British sensation Emma Raducanu was forced to retire from her opening round match during the third set at the Abierto Akron Zapopan competition in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The 19-year-old was playing Daria Saville, but she pulled out of the tie after three hours and 36 minutes when the Australian was ahead 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 4-3.
It has now been confirmed by the WTA that the reason the US Open champion bowed out of the match was because of an injury to her left hip.
Raducanu had already called for an off-court medical time-out earlier on in the match and when she returned her left leg was strapped up, but she could only continue for two more games before she retired.
The British No 1 kept it brief in her post-match interview, she said: “Tough match, but I mean not much I can do.”
Her opponent, Saville, on the other hand was very happy with her win, the 27-year-old revealed: “I worked hard and believed in myself, so I think I won it.
“This is probably the first match in a long time when I felt like I was being myself.
“The most important thing was to compete.”
This is a worrying sign for the Bromley local as she’s only played four matches in her first two months on her debut WTA Tour.
She’s been hit with quite a few different illness and fitness problems since she burst onto the scene last year, including having to withdraw from her fourth-round tie at Wimbledon due to breathing problems, catching Covid-19 back in December 2021 and then suffering with blisters on her hands which contributed to her loss in the second round of the Australian Open earlier in the year.
Hopefully these are just minor setbacks and teething problems as she gets settled in to her first full year on the tour and she’s fit and ready for her next competition, the Monterrey Open, which starts next week and Indian Wells which gets underway from March 7th, 2022.
Words by Lucy Roberts for Female First, who you can follow on Twitter, @Lucy_Roberts_72.
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