The process of adjusting to the rigours and intensity of a full tennis season always stood as a challenging task for Emma Raducanu in the wake of her US Open victory, but even so her inability to remain healthy throughout this season has been alarming.
Some sort of ailment has followed her during most weeks of this year and it played a defining role once more in her Italian Open debut on Tuesday.
After blisters, a hip injury, other back issues, illness and medical timeouts in most tournaments she has played this year, Raducanu’s struggles to find a sustained period of good health continued as she was forced to retire early in the second set of her high-profile first-round match against Bianca Andreescu in Rome with a lower back injury, an imperious Andreescu moving on after Raducanu retired as she trailed 6-2, 2-1.
The retirement …
- May 11, 2022
