Emma Raducanu retires from Wuhan Open first-round match against Ann Li
Emma Raducanu withdrew from her opening match at the Wuhan Open against Ann Li, struggling with the humid conditions on court.
Raducanu was trailing 6-1, 4-1 when she retired following a medical timeout, after showing signs of dizziness during the second set, News.Az reports, citing Sky Sports.
The British No 1 is the latest player to retire or withdraw from a tournament in recent weeks during the Asia swing with six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek criticising the "overwhelming" tennis schedule.
Li, who will face Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova in the next round, said: "I want to wish Emma a fast recovery. It looks like she wasn't feeling good.
"It was a tough match last time, so hopefully she feels better. I'm happy with my performance, I stayed pretty solid for the entire match."
Raducanu got off to a fast start by breaking Li in the opening game but went on to lose the next six games of the first set in just 28 minutes.
Li simply overpowered Raducanu with great ball-striking while her opponent began to increasingly make unforced errors and was clearly not fully fit.
Raducanu made four double faults at the start of the second set, bending down, signalling that she could retire but somehow managed to hold serve.
However, the match went away from her again as Li won four consecutive games before Raducanu called for the trainer and soon shook hands with the American following a brief check-up.
Earlier on Tuesday, Naomi Osaka beat Leylah Fernandez 4-6 7-5 6-3 and Amanda Anisimova withdrew from the tournament due to a calf injury following her triumph at the China Open on Sunday.
Similar news
