Emma Raducanu halted by injury once again as she retires from Korea Open semi-final
Emma Raducanu missed out on a place in the Korea Open final after an injury halted her promising run in Seoul.
The 19-year-old Briton was trailing 4-6 6-3 3-0 to Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in Seoul but was unable to complete the match.
Raducanu had come from a break down to win the first set but former French Open champion Ostapenko levelled in the second and had edged ahead.
Raducanu, the US Open winner last year, had been bidding to reach her first final in a regular WTA Tour event after winning her three previous matches.
Ostapenko will go through to play Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final after the second seed’s 6-2 6-4 victory over Tatjana Maria.
This was the latest injury setback for Raducanu, who has struggled throughout 2022 with injury problems.
Former British No 1 Tim Henman told Tennis365 that her fitness issues were the biggest concern for Raducanu moving forward, as he suggested she needed to build up her strength to shine on the game’s biggest stages.
“She sometimes gets knocked down, but she dusts herself off and gets straight back up, she embraces those challenges and she has learned an enormous amount,” Henman told us.
“The biggest area is to build up the physical resilience and when she does that, she will go on to achieve more great things in the sport.”
Tennis legend John McEnroe told Tennis365 that Raducanu needs time to find her feet on the tour, with her fitness the biggest issue moving forward.
“No one wins a major if they are not a great player and hopefully she has belief, but a lot has changed for her since then,” tennis legend McEnroe told Tennis365 in July.
“I’m not close to her. In fact. As a matter of fact, I’ve never spoken to her. I hope to have the opportunity soon because she is obviously a breath of fresh air. She is a very sweet girl, a beautiful girl and plays great tennis. What’s not to like.
“It has been hard to watch her struggling, but I don’t know if she needs time. She needs the right stability and people around her and I don’t know what’s going on there.
“You don’t go through a tournament where you don’t lose a single set and beat some of the top female players and not be a great player.”
It remains to be seen whether Raducanu will now play in the upcoming events she has entered, but the form she has show in Seoul has to be a source of encouragement for what comes next.
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