Emma Raducanu blows hot and cold as she suffers injury scare during defeat to world No 213

Emma Raducanu suffered another injury scare in a disappointing defeat by Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam at the WTA tournament in Portoroz.

Raducanu took a wildcard into the low-key Slovenia event and was the top seed but fell to a 7-5, 0-6, 6-3 defeat in the second round.

The British No 1 began well and opened up a 5-3 lead in the first set over qualifier Friedsam, who is ranked down at 213, although she has been a top-50 player.

Raducanu, who has a 5-5 record since the beginning of August, then lost four games in a row and began to look uncomfortable in her movement.

She took a medical timeout at the end of the first set and had her left thigh heavily strapped but breezed through the second set only to come up short in the decider.

Raducanu, who is due to play in South Korea next week, saw her ranking plummet to 83 following her first-round US Open loss, but she should regain a few spots courtesy of Monday’s win over Dayana Yastremska.

In an interview ahead of Thursday’s clash, the 19-year-old admitted that it has been a difficult season as she has struggled with muscle injuries, a back problem and health issues.

“It’s been a year full of challenges, but it was good for me anyway, because I had to adapt. I kind of skipped that, because it’s usually the case that you first play on tour for one season and then maybe a bigger result comes,” she said.

“It’s a good experience for me. I obviously had a target on my back during this period and some competitors raised their game against me, but this will only make me stronger.”

The teenager added: “All these obligations at tournaments are new to me, because after a defeat, when you’re angry, you can’t think about it for a long time, because press conferences follow.

“Off the court, however, I feel like all the things I do are scrutinised or even exaggerated. People like to talk.”

Raducanu has also signed up for the Transylvania Open again after she reached the quarter-final in the inaugural tournament last year. The WTA 250 event will start on October 10 on the indoor hard courts in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Jodie Burrage was also beaten in the second round, losing 7-5, 6-1 to Katerina Siniakova, but Katie Swan reached the first WTA Tour quarter-final of her career with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory over Anastasia Gasanova at the Chennai Open.