Emma Raducanu’s foot injury has forced her to withdraw from this week’s China Open in Beijing. It was due to this problem that the 21-year-old British woman was forced to withdraw from her Korea Open quarter-final in Seoul on Saturday as well.
After this unfortunate incident, the athlete admitted: “I sprained some ligaments in my foot which unfortunately need some more time to heal… It means I can’t play in Beijing but I hope to be back competing as soon as I can.”
China’s Zheng Qinwen, ranked fifth, was expected to be the opponent for Raducanu, ranked 54th, in the first round.
Raducanu decided to end her match after losing the first set to Daria Kasatkina of Russia in Seoul, citing a medical timeout after five games.
Known for winning the 2021 US Open as a teenage qualifier, Raducanu is next expected to compete on October 7 in Wuhan, China.
Raducanu rising in the ranks
The young athlete was on the verge of returning to the world’s top 50 after winning two matches in Seoul over Peyton Stearns, an American, and Yue, a Chinese player, both of whom are ranked higher. Since the points from her victory in New York were eliminated in August 2022, this is Raducanu’s highest standing.
With 33 matches played so far this season on the WTA Tour, Raducanu is three matches short of her career-high of 36 in 2022.
After requiring surgery on both wrists and her left ankle, Raducanu missed the majority of the previous season. She returned at the beginning of this year and has since risen steadily back up the rankings.
Source: BBC