Emma Raducanu's challenging Asian swing continued at the Wuhan Open on Tuesday, as the British tennis star retired from her first-round match against American Ann Li due to illness. The 22-year-old was trailing 6-1, 4-1 when she cited dizziness and had her blood pressure checked before withdrawing from the WTA 1000 event.
The match took place in stifling conditions in Wuhan, with temperatures reaching 31°C and humidity at 67%. Raducanu struggled throughout, committing 15 unforced errors in the first set and facing difficulties with her second serve, including multiple double faults. Her movement appeared increasingly laboured before she ultimately retired.
This retirement follows a series of disappointing results for Raducanu in Asia, despite performing well against top opponents. She held three match points against Barbora Krejcikova in Seoul and against Jessica Pegula in Beijing, only to lose both matches in three sets. The poor form against Li, whom she had beaten earlier this year at Eastbourne, seemed partly a result of those confidence-sapping defeats.
Raducanu had a new fitness trainer in her player box, Daniel Pohl, who has worked with top players including Naomi Osaka and Ben Shelton. She had been without a fitness trainer since Yutaka Nakamura stopped working with her on-site in April. Raducanu is scheduled to compete next at the Ningbo Open, followed by the Hong Kong Open.
