Emma Raducanu pulls out of China Open due to injury that 'needs more time to heal', follows Iga Swiatek withdrawal

Published 23/09/2024 at 13:07 GMT

Britain’s 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu has pulled out of the China Open because of sprained ankle ligaments in her foot. Raducanu announced the news shortly after the draw was made for WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing. The 21-year-old retired from her Korea Open quarter-final with Daria Kasatkina over the weekend, having lost the opening set 6-1.

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Injury has again got in the way of Emma Raducanu putting a run of tournaments together as the British No. 2 pulled out of the China Open.

Shortly after the draw was made for the penultimate WTA 1000 event of the season, it was confirmed that the 2021 US Open champion would not take up her place in the first round, having sprained ligaments in her foot.

Raducanu retired hurt from her Korea Open quarter-final with Daris Kasatkina on Saturday, having lost the opening set 6-1.

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The 21-year-old Brit has spoken about how she wants to finish the season strongly so that she can “hit the ground running” in 2025, and said “I thrive in Asia” when talking about the current swing on the continent.

Raducanu was due to face a qualifier in the opening round in Beijing, before a potential match-up with home favourite and Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.

In a post on X, Raducanu wrote: “Hello, last week in Seoul 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”.

Raducanu is the latest high-profile player to withdraw from the event after world No. 1 Iga Swiatek decided to sit out the tournament due to “personal matters”, while Elena Rybakina has also pulled out because of an ongoing back injury.

With the tournament starting on Wednesday, recently crowned US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will be the top seed and she has a bye through to the second round, with Jessica Pegula leading the field on the other side of the draw.

British No. 1 Katie Boulter, who also has a bye through to the second round, will face the winner of Martina Trevisan v Taylor Townsend, while Harriet Dart will open against Denmark’s Clara Tauson.

As for Raducanu, it is unclear whether she will be fit to return for the Wuhan Open, which begins on October 7. Speaking last week, she said she was looking to use the final few months of the season to work on new aspects of her game, including a fresh service action.

"If you watch my serve over the past few months, since the clay season it's gone through a lot of iterations in terms of swing," Raducanu told the WTA website.

"In general, if you play a lot of tournaments, things move out of place without you really realising, and then it's harder to get the natural feeling back.

"I just have to think bigger-picture. My goals are finishing this season strong but inevitably to set myself up in the best way possible for next year, because next year I really want to hit the ground running."

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