Emma Raducanu had to retire from her first-round match at the Wuhan Open on Tuesday after feeling dizzy while trailing 6-1, 4-1 to American player Ann Li.
The British number 30 looked uncomfortable in the hot and humid conditions, with temperatures reaching 30°C. Due to the weather, tournament officials activated the heat rule during the early rounds.
Raducanu started the match strongly, breaking Li’s serve in the opening game. But she quickly lost momentum and failed to win another game in the 28-minute first set.
Midway through the second set, Raducanu called for medical assistance. Her blood pressure and other vitals were checked, and shortly after, she decided to stop the match. As a result, Li moved on to face ninth seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the next round.
The tournament’s heat rule allows players a 10-minute break between the second and third sets. Organisers can also partially or fully close the roof to help manage extreme temperatures. During Raducanu’s match, the roof was partly closed.
Earlier in the day, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka earned her first career win at the Wuhan Open. She came from behind to beat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a tough match lasting two and a half hours. Osaka hit 41 winners but also made 56 unforced errors.
Speaking after the match, Osaka said, “Mentally it was really tough today. It’s just a difficult part of the season. But I’m happy I got through it, and I think things will be easier from now on.”
