Emma Raducanu retiring after rival's 'it's not pleasant' complaint sums up huge blow - The Mirror

Emma Raducanu suffered a blow as she was forced to pull out of the Wuhan Open during a stiflingly hot match against Ann Li, having raised expectations in recent months

Emma Raducanu retired from her first round match at the Wuhan Open with illness in a bitter blow to her hopes of a resurgence. The Brit faced Ann Li of the United States on Tuesday but the gruelling 31 degree conditions forced her to pull out in the second set with dizziness.

Raducanu had looked completely out of sorts despite breaking her opponent in the opening game. She began to struggle shortly afterwards, and, having gone 6-1, 4-1 down, she finally decided to call the doctor to the court.

The world No. 30 had her blood pressure checked and temperature taken before retiring from the WTA 1000 event. Li said afterwards: "First I want to wish Emma a fast recovery. Not sure what, but looked like she wasn't feeling good."

It is unclear when Raducanu will next play but she will be hugely disappointed, having been keen to perform well in order to secure a seeded place at the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne in January. The 22-year-old was optimistic about doing so after enjoying a return to form in the summer and moving up the WTA rankings as a result.

Ahead of the Wuhan Open, Raducanu told Sky Sports: "I've just got to do my best in the next few months until Australia. Keep working to close the gap and try to get seeded for Melbourne. I think I'm improving for sure in the last few months. I just need to stay consistent."

Since shooting to fame in 2021 by winning the US Open as a teenage qualifier, the British tennis sensation endured a hugely difficult few years with relentless injuries and a subsequent lack of form. But her displays this year had been a cause for optimism, reaching the third round of both Wimbledon and the US Open.

At SW19 in July, she was buoyed by the overwhelming support she received in her first two matches before eventually succumbing to defeat against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Her second round opponent, Marketa Vondrousova, even expressed her exasperation at facing a motivated Raducanu spurred on by the Centre Court crowd, which she called an “unpleasant experience”.

The Czech player reflected on the match, saying: "It's very difficult with her in the centre, it seems to me that she's a complete idol here. The centre was packed and she was still teasing people and demanding that they support her.

“She was very excited herself, from the second ball she was shouting all over the court. It's obvious that she's enjoying it. It's just not pleasant. And when you play this well, you're in a good mood and it's hard to get out of it."

In August, Raducanu admitted she was finally seeing the US Open as her ‘happy place’ again after several nightmarish years. She had not won a match at Flushing Meadows since her shock triumph four years ago and was far more optimistic about her return ahead of the tournament in August.

She said: "I really struggled when I came back in 2022. I didn't enjoy coming back here. I think now is the first time that I feel like I can come back to the US Open and really enjoy the memories that I made here.

"I can be proud of that and see it as a happy place. So for that, I feel very grateful for and very pleased about. So I feel in a much better place now."

Her best results this year have come at the Miami Open in March, where she reached the quarter-finals, and the Mubadala Citi DC Open in July, where her semi-final finish marked her deepest run of the year.

However, her miserable afternoon in Wuhan was preceded by two excruciating defeats in back-to-back events. Raducanu held three match points against the two-time grand slam champion Barbora Krejcikova in her second round at the Korea Open in Seoul before falling away in a one-sided third set. She then endured an identical scenario at the China Open in Beijing, losing to Jessica Pegula in the third round after also holding three match points.