Emma Raducanu is out of Wuhan after only one match played and retiring while 6-1 4-1 down to world No. 46 Ann Li.
Raducanu, who was forced to skip Wuhan last year due to an injury, finally debuted at the Chinese tournament this Tuesday. Unfortunately for the British tennis player, it didn't go well for her.
While the 2021 US Open champion claimed a break in the very first game of the match, she stunningly dropped the next six games. The Briton also served out the opening game of the second set before losing the next four games.
Down by a set and two breaks, Raducanu called for a medical timeout - during which she had her blood pressure checked. After the medical intervention, the 22-year-old walked to Li and retired from the match.
Li plays against Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Wuhan second round.
Raducanu has had a rough Asian swing
When the Asian swing started, Raducanu signed up for a full schedule - Seoul, Beijing, Wuhan, Ningbo. Through the first three tournaments played, the Briton is only 2-3. To make it all worse, she blew three match points in a Seoul loss to Barbora Krejcikova, and also squandered three match points in a Beijing defeat to Pegula.
It is not a secret that Asia is one of Raducanu's favorite places to play in tennis. And after signing up for a loaded Asian swing schedule, the Briton - who hired Rafael Nadal's ex-coach Francisco Roig in August - said she wanted to use this part of the year to develop chemistry with her new coach.
So far, it hasn't been a great Asian swing for Raducanu, and it remains to be seen if something changes in Ningbo.
