Raonic Follows Rotterdam Retirement With Dubai Championships Withdrawal
ATP
Milos Raonic can't have a lucky break when it comes to his health, as he has had to pull out from another ATP tournament.
Raonic was forced to abandon his quarterfinal match in Rotterdam this past week after just one set. The Canadian appeared to be playing very well and pushed eventual champion Jannik Sinner to a first-set tie-break.
But immediately after holding serve at the start of the second set, he retired due to injury. Raonic received treatment during the first set of that clash against Sinner for an apparent right leg injury and carried on without giving a hint of discomfort.
His body eventually gave in, and he had to throw in the towel rather than risk playing through injury. And it looks like Raonic has now been forced to withdraw from next week's Dubai Championships because of the same injury he sustained in the Netherlands.
The 33-year-old signed up to play in the ATP 500 tournament in the Middle East with a protected ranking but withdrew on Monday night. It is a setback for the former Wimbledon finalist, who looked to be having a decent week of form in Rotterdam.
It was only his third tournament of the season. Raonic has already missed the Hong Kong Open prior to flying to Melbourne this year. He was also named in Canada's Davis Cup qualifying tie against the Republic of Korea as a replacement for Denis Shapovalov but did not play a single minute.
Right now, the eight-time ATP titlist will be working to recover from the leg injury and be ready for the first Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells. Raonic missed the entire 2022 season because of a spate of injuries to his lower body.
He contemplated retiring from the sport but decided to give himself a second chance and returned to the grass-court swing last year. He played a total of five tournaments and won just five matches.
