Emma Raducanu withdraws from another tournament as new return date identified | Tennis | Sport
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from next week’s Ningbo Open in China as she continues to work her way back to full fitness. The 21-year-old has been forced to pull out of several tournaments after picking up an injury at the Korea Open last month.
Raducanu sprained ligaments in her foot during her match against Daria Kasatkina and was forced to retire in the first set. She later withdrew from the China Open in Beijing before pulling out of the Wuhan Open, which is taking place this week.
The young Brit has since confirmed that she will not be playing at the Ningbo Open and is now targeting the Hong Kong Open, which begins on October 28. It will represent her last chance to play before the season-ending Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Raducanu has struggled to stay fit since undergoing surgery on her hands and ankles last year. She has featured in just three tournaments since Wimbledon, opting to skip a number of events in the build-up to the US Open.
She previously underlined her desire to be involved in as many tournaments as possible before the end of the year, but things have not been going to plan over the last few months.
Speaking less than a month ago, Raducanu said: “I think the rest of the year, as long as I’m healthy, I’m going to try and finish the season and play as many matches as I can.
“It’s something I’m really light on since the grass through the [Washington] DC period. I’ve not played many points, even in practice. I think I had three hours of match experience which can only aid me going into the next few weeks.
“For me now, I just want to play matches and, in the meantime, do a little bit of work on my game where I can.”
It remains to be seen how Raducanu will fare at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals given her lack of match practice over the last few weeks. She will feature in the Great Britain squad alongside Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Fran Jones and Heather Watson.
They are due to face Germany in the opening round on November 15 but only time will tell if Raducanu will be fit enough to take part.
