Emma Raducanu exits Ningbo Open early amid health struggles
Emma Raducanu’s health issues resurfaced during her opening match at the Ningbo Open, as medical staff rushed to assist the British tennis star.
The 22-year-old from Bromley struggled to cope with the extreme conditions, including temperatures intensified by 90% humidity, while facing China’s Zhu Lin, ranked 219th in the world, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
This match marked Raducanu’s return to competition following her withdrawal from the Wuhan Open a week earlier due to dizziness, an episode that prevented her from completing that contest.
In contrast to the previous week's circumstances, Raducanu managed to persist with play in Ningbo despite requiring medical evaluation and eventually succumbing to defeat. The challenging environmental conditions in China have proved problematic for numerous competitors throughout this portion of the tennis calendar.
Medical personnel hurried onto the court when the score reached 4-3 during the second set, immediately following Raducanu's successful break of serve. Both a physician and physiotherapist attended to the 29th-ranked player during this intervention.
The physiotherapist conducted assessments of vital signs, including monitoring her pulse and measuring blood pressure readings. Throughout the examination, the former US Open winner covered herself with a towel whilst the medical team performed their checks.
Following the medical evaluation, play resumed with Raducanu maintaining her serve to level at 4-4. Nevertheless, she subsequently lost her service game whilst attempting to force a tiebreak, surrendering the second set after taking the opener 6-3.
The British tennis player then departed the court for an extended comfort break ahead of the deciding set.
That decider brought further physical challenges for Raducanu, who was observed bending forward repeatedly whilst holding her lower back area. These discomfort signals emerged during the early stages of the final set.
Additional medical assistance became necessary when Raducanu requested another stoppage specifically to address back-related issues. The trainer returned to court to provide treatment during this medical timeout but she ended up losing the crashing out of the competition.
Her physical difficulties mirrored those experienced in Wuhan the prior Tuesday, where medical staff had examined her pupils, heart rate, temperature and blood pressure during competition against Ann Li. However, on that occasion she had been forced to halt proceedings whilst behind 6-1 4-1.
In a social media update on Saturday, Raducanu posted on Threads: "Last day at the doctor's in Wuhan feeling better now. Shame I couldn't continue there but thank you for the messages."
The extreme environmental conditions have affected numerous elite competitors across China's tournament circuit during this phase of the season. Magdalena Frech expressed her frustration, declaring: "It's no longer a tennis match, just a fight for survival!"
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