Emma Raducanu’s campaign at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships has come to an end after she lost the round of 64 to lucky loser Antonia Ružić, the World No. 67 from Croatia. During the clash, the British star took a medical timeout due to health reasons, which prevented her from playing at her elite level and ultimately concluded her Middle East Swing.
Emma Raducanu Ends Dubai Tennis Championships Run Due to Lingering Illness
Raducanu has entered Dubai’s WTA 1000, an outdoor hard-court tournament, after retiring from her first-round match against Camila Osorio at the Qatar Open due to blood pressure issues, concluding her match with a final scoreline of 6-2, 4-6, 0-2. In her round of 64 match at the Dubai Tennis Championships, she was set to clash against Elisabetta Cocciaretto; however, she had withdrawn from the tournament due to a thigh injury.
The tournament also saw multiple withdrawals, leading to several lucky losers; among them, one was Ružić. The World No. 25 then battled the Croatian talent, losing the first set, winning the second, and then falling short again in the third, ending the match with a scoreline of 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.
Raducanu lost the first set in half an hour and took a medical timeout due to health reasons. According to The Telegraph, the reason for this was her lingering illness, following her run at the Transylvania Open, where she had reached the final, losing to the homeland’s star, Sorana Cîrstea.
They revealed, “Later, her management explained that she had come into the match feeling largely recovered from the chest infection which she had picked up during her run to the final of the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca 10 days ago. However, she still suffered from coughing and discomfort in her chest during the early stages of this match, which made a significant impact on her performance.”
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Ružić, who will be battling Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina in her next match, the round of 16, had revealed how the situation turned for her, adding, “We were going to stay here for two-three days. It’s crazy because I got in on Monday. Playing against Emma, of course, is a tough match. A lot of the girls were cancelling and a lot of them were not here to sign (as alternates). I was like ‘OK, I’m going to sign and let’s see what happens’.”
The 2021 US Open women’s singles champion, Raducanu, has unfortunately continued to have health reasons that have limited her campaigns, as her offseason training was also derailed by a foot injury.
