Raducanu slams tournament organization after "freak" injury in Auckland

| by Alfredo Bassanelli

Emma Raducanu had an incredibly unlucky start of the 2023 season as she had to retire from her second match of the year against Viktoria Kuzmova.

The 2021 US Open champion played her second match at the 2023 ASB Classic in Auckland, and despite winning the first set 6-0, she had to retire after two sets. Her retirement came after rolling her ankle on courts, which she described as slippery. Speaking about how she feels about the injury, Raducanu said:

"I've put a lot of physical work in the last few months and I've been feeling good and optimistic," she said. "So to be stopped by a freak injury, rolling an ankle is pretty disappointing, in the first week as well. I thought I was playing some pretty decent tennis."

Speaking about the organization of the 2023 ASB Classic in Auckland, which has been plagued by rain throughout the week, she said:

Raducanu retires in her 2nd match of 2023 despite winning first set 6-0
Raducanu retires in her 2nd match of 2023 despite winning first set 6-0

"The courts are incredibly slick, like very slippery, so to be honest it's not a surprise that this happened to someone ... we'll assess over the next few days and see what the next steps are."

“But Auckland overall, it rained a lot this week, so I didn’t get to see much and I thought maybe certain aspects could have been organized better, but overall I had pleasant support when playing outdoors and the crowd made me feel really welcome and at home," she concluded.

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