Emma Raducanu confirms injury blow after withdrawing from tournament as plans for rest of 2024 thrown into turmoil
Emma Raducanu made the devastating reveal her latest tournament withdrawal was because of an injury.
Raducanu was due to compete at the China Open in Beijing, but an injury sustained at the Korea Open has forced her to pull out.
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"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 had looked in fine form at the Korea Open and made it to the last eight, where she would face No. 1 seed Daria Kasatkina.
However, the match lasted just 32 minutes as the British No. 2 was forced to retire hurt.
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Raducanu physically struggled to get around the court in the opening set and called for the physio with the score at 4-1.
The 21-year-old received painkillers but it only delayed the inevitable as Raducanu retired at the end of the first set which Kasatkina won 6-1.
Kasatkina, the world No. 11, felt 'sorry' for Raducanu amid the brutal injury blow.
"It's a pity to get the injury, especially in the deeper stages of the tournament," Kasatkina said after her victory.
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"I wish her a speedy recovery and to get ready for the next tournament. I know that this Asian swing is important for her."
After the Korea Open, Raducanu had planned to compete in the China Open and the Wuhan Open, both of which are WTA 1000 events.
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However, Raducanu will be forced to go through the gruelling qualification process in Wuhan to make the main draw as her ranking of 70th wasn't high enough to secure an automatic spot.
Making it through to the main draw for Wuhan will be no easy feat either, as four-time grand slam winner Naomi Osaka, Sloane Stephens and Bianca Andreescu are also competing in the qualifiers.
Raducanu is also set to take part in a Hong Kong tournament at the end of October.
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The 21-year-old must now hope she will recover in time for the Wuhan qualifiers, which begin on October 5.
Should Raducanu make the main draw, she will have an excellent chance at breaking back into the top 50.
Her run to the quarter finals in Seoul helped Raducanu rocket up the rankings from 70th to 54th.
With no rankings points to defend for the remainder of the calendar year, Raducanu stands a good chance of finishing the year in a strong position.
Raducanu will be desperate to recover in time for her remaining tournaments in Asia given how much she had looked forward to competing in the region.
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"I thrive in Asia," Raducanu - whose mother is Chinese -
"It's where I truly feel like home. So I'm buzzing for that trip even though it's at the end of the year. I'm looking forward to going out there and trying to take it."
Raducanu's latest injury setback comes after she missed most of 2023 having undergone surgery on both wrists and her left ankle.
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