Emma Raducanu has shared that she is “feeling better” after an early retirement from her Wuhan Open match due to health concerns. The British player was optimistic about her performance in her second tournament in China within a short span.
Raducanu had previously faced a close defeat against Jessica Pegula in the round of 32 at the China Open in Beijing before heading to Wuhan. However, during her Centre Court match against Ann Li in Hubei province, it became evident that she was struggling with the extreme heat.
After losing the first set 6-1 and trailing 4-1 in the second, a WTA physio and tournament doctor were called to assess her condition. Following their consultation, Raducanu withdrew from the match and the tournament due to dizziness.
Three days later, the 2021 US Open champion updated her followers on social media about her health status. On Threads, Raducanu posted a photo of herself sitting on a hospital bed in China, donned in a navy blue Nike hoodie and dark sunglasses.
She captioned the post: “Last day at the doctors in Wuhan. Feeling better now. Shame I couldn’t continue there, but thank you for the messages,” accompanied by a heart emoji wrapped in a bandage.
Following their match on September 7, Li was the first to wish Raducanu a speedy recovery in her victory speech. She expressed: “First, I want to wish Emma a fast recovery. Not sure what, but looked like she wasn’t feeling good.
“But yeah, tough match last time, so I knew it was going to be tough, but I wish her to feel better, but yeah, I’m happy with my performance, I wasn’t pretty solid the entire match.”
The sweltering heat and high humidity in China have wreaked havoc not only at the Wuhan Open but also at the Shanghai Masters. On October 9, the commencement of play in Wuhan was postponed from 1pm to 3pm due to the extreme heat.
Temperatures soared to around 36 degrees Celsius, with humidity levels nearing a stifling 60 per cent. Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, too, had to withdraw from her match against Sorana Cirstea.
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At that point, the Latvian was trailing, having lost the first set 6-0 and was down 2-1, after losing her serve to the Romanian, when she decided to bow out of the competition. Ostapenko attributed her withdrawal to the blistering heat on social media, stating: “It was a tough day. I suffered a heat stroke today.
“Thank you China for the atmosphere, emotions and incredible energy from the crowd. I am truly sorry that I had to finish the match this way. Thank you to all my Chinese fans. I will be back stronger next year.”