Emma Raducanu retires in Rome as back injury persists

Emma Raducanu retires in Rome as back injury persists.

At the Italian Open on Tuesday, Emma Raducanu of the United Kingdom could not overcome a back issue in her first-round match against Bianca Andreescu.

Raducanu, who had already had a back issue at a tournament in Madrid and a hip injury earlier this year, was losing 6-2 2-1 when she retired.

“I’m quite dissatisfied with how today went. But I suppose I just wanted to give it a go. “Until I walked out there, I never really understood how horrible it was,” Raducanu told reporters.

“I’m still learning when it’s OK to push and push through my body and when it’s not.” That’s probably something I’m picking up in these competitions.

“After Madrid, I figured that having one or two days off would take care of it since many of the other little niggles I’ve had have gone away after two days off.”

The match between the reigning and past US Open winners on clay looked exciting. 

Still, Raducanu struggled from the start and served badly, giving Andreescu many break opportunities.

Raducanu was gripping her back when she took a medical break after falling down 5-2, but she returned to the court minutes later and won the first set at love.

Raducanu, who is 19 years old, maintained serve at the start of the second set but was uneasy once again. 

She decided to withdraw when she was down 2-1 in the second.

Raducanu, who made her professional clay-court debut last month, said she didn’t want to rush into skipping the French Open to concentrate on the grasscourt swing and her home Grand Slam at Wimbledon.

“Clearly, I don’t want to miss the French Open.” “The whole clay season builds to that,” she said.

“I believe the previous three weeks have been quite encouraging. On this surface, I’ve learned a lot about myself, and my game has certainly improved.”

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia, the first African player to win a WTA 1000 championship in Madrid, overcame Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-0 7-6 in the final (1).

Jabeur seemed to be on her way to a straightforward win when she bagelled Cirstea and led 5-2 after 45 minutes.

On the other hand, Cirstea battled bravely as Jabeur lost concentration and produced a flood of mistakes, necessitating a tiebreak, which the Tunisian won to win her seventh successive match for the first time in her career.