Emma Raducanu was again forced to retire from a tennis tournament, ending her 2024 Korea Open participation after just 31 minutes of her quarter-final match.
The British player has struggled with many injuries during her still very short tennis career. She even decided to stop her season prematurely last year to address her issues surgically.
This year, she was supposed to finally return to health and get back to the top of the WTA Tour. While she returned to the courts, she didn't play as many tournaments as her fans imagined she would, and she also seemed unable to stay healthy.
Ahead of the Asian swing, Raducanu spoke about how important this part of the season is to her. She has roots in Asia, so doing well at these tournaments was important to her.
She started at the WTA 500 event in Seoul, and things were going well early on. First, she bested Peyton Stearns in a marathon two-setter, before also beating Yuan Yue in the second round.
However, already in the match against Yuan, Raducanu had some issues with her leg. Still, she could finish and win the match relatively easily in two sets.
Up next was the highest-ranked player at the tournament for her, the top-seeded Daria Kasatkina. The Russian won the only player she played at the tournament and she has never lost against Raducanu before.
It wasn't surprising that the Russian player was favored in this match, and she proved why early in the match. After saving two break points, Kasatkina broke her opponent's serve to lead 2-0 in the opening set.
In the third game of the match, she faced a break point herself and couldn't hold her serve, as Raducanu reduced the deficit to 1-2. However, the British player couldn't serve well in this match, and it had something to do with a leg injury that was bothering her.
In the opening set, she was broken in every single service game, winning only two points on her serve and producing three double faults. Raducanu lost the first set very quickly, in just 31 minutes, 1-6, and once she sat down after losing the set, she had to make a decision.
Either she could carry on playing on an injury and likely make it worse, or retire once again from a match, something she certainly didn't want to do in 2024.
She chose the wiser option and retired after the first set of play, sending Kasatkina into the semi-finals of the 2024 Korea Open, in which she will play against compatriot Diana Shnaider.
While certainly happy to reach the semi-finals, the Russian player was sad about her opponent's retirement.
"First of all, I feel sorry for Emma for retiring during the match. It's a pity to get injured, especially in the deeper stages on the tournament. I wish her a speedy recovery to get ready for the next tournament. I know that this swing is important for her."
Raducanu will now attempt to recover in time for the following tournaments, as the Asian swing moves to China, where she would want to compete at the China Open in Beijing and Wuhan Open.