Britain’s Emma Raducanu, who retired injured from matches four times in 2022, was forced to withdraw against Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova in Auckland.
Raducanu was in tears after retiring with an injured ankle at the ASB Classic, less than two weeks before the Australian Open begins.
The Briton had breezed through the first set of the last-16 tie against Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova, winning 6-0 in just over 20 minutes.
Raducanu faced far more of a challenge in the second set, and received treatment on her left ankle near the end of it, before pulling out in tears at the start of the third.
Raducanu had been broken at 2-2 and fell 4-2 behind in the second set, but broke back in the 10th game of the set to level things at 5-5.
The Briton was broken again in the very next game, however, before going on to lose the second set 7-5.
During the match, Raducanu summoned the trainer courtside to heavily strap her left ankle in a long medical timeout.
She attempted to play on but was not able to complete the first game of the third set, acknowledging she could not continue.
Raducanu was marked as one of tennis’ hottest stars when she won the US Open in 2021. Her career since has been dogged by injuries. She retired from matches four times in 2022 and most recently has had to contend with a wrist injury.
Former British tennis player Barry Cowan speaking to Sky Sports News on Thursday….
“It’s really unfortunate for Emma, and it was one of those freak injuries that can happen to any tennis player.
“Most tennis players, at some stage, have rolled their ankle, but if we go back to how it happened, it was at 5-5 in the second set, and at the time it looked innocuous and more like a slip than a rolled ankle.
“She played for another couple of games, lost the set, then called the medical timeout, had her ankle strapped, and sometimes it can really feel uncomfortable when you have you ankle strapped as heavily as she did.
“Unfortunately for Emma, she was only able to play one point in the third set. So let’s wish her well, because the off season by all accounts was very, very positive.
“And when you start a new season it’s always with renewed hope. I’m sure she was full of confidence.
“It’s still quite a while until the Australian Open, and I would expect her to be fine and to be able to play in Melbourne.
“In her case, she’ll find out more tomorrow morning when she wakes up.
“That’s been the hardest part of Emma’s tennis [lack of meaningful practice]. At times, unfortunately, she has had to pull out, either during a match or before an event.
“You want momentum, you want to be able to build up a head of steam, get some confidence, feel like you get into a flow. But unfortunately for Raducanu, with the injuries she’s had, she’ll be disappointed she’s not able to build on the little bit of momentum she had in December with a good practice schedule with her new coaches.
“Absolutely not [don’t write off Raducanu as injury prone]. This can happen to the fittest tennis player, and to the unfittest player. It’s a rolled ankle, it’s just one of those injuries.
“It’s just really unfortunate for Emma this has happened this week. But it has, it’s a long year, and I would have thought a scan is the right way to go, because then you know in your mind if everything is fine.
“Sometimes with a sprained ankle you wonder with a little bit of pain: ‘I don’t want to make it worse’, and that’s exactly what you don’t want to do at the start of a tennis season where she hopes to play 25/30 events.
“In a sport that is brutal, not only in terms of having to beat your opponent over three hours, but mentally and physically, you will have niggles along the way.
“With this particular one, if you are in any doubt at this stage of a season, it’s better to make sure you get the right treatment. Because what you don’t want is if it is slightly weak and susceptible to worse injury.
“Better to pull out of a match in January and just miss one tournament than miss two or three months. I’m pretty confident we’ll be seeing Emma Raducanu a week on Monday at the Australian Open.”
Kuzmova will face Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in the quarter-finals, after the latter defeated American Lauren Davis in three sets 4-6 6-3 6-2 to progress.
Skysports