Emma Raducanu visits doctors in China as tennis star drops health update statement

Emma Raducanu was forced to retire from her Wuhan Open first-round match against Ann Li on Monday after suffering from dizziness in the searing Chinese heat

Emma Raducanu has revealed she’s “feeling better” after being forced to retire early from her Wuhan Open match and visiting the doctors in China. The 2021 US Open winner, 22, was hopeful of making a strong showing in her second competition in the country within days.

Raducanu suffered a narrow defeat to Jessica Pegula in the round of 32 at the China Open in Beijing before she turned up in Wuhan for her next WTA event. As soon as she stepped onto Centre Court in Hubei province for her match against Ann Li, it was clear she was struggling with the sweltering weather conditions.

She lost the first set 6-1 to the American and was trailing 4-1 in the second when a WTA physio and tournament doctor were called over. Following their consultation, Raducanu withdrew from the match and the tournament due to dizziness in worrying scenes.

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Three days later, the Brit updated her followers on social media about her condition. On Threads, she posted a photo of herself sitting on a hospital bed in China, donning a navy blue Nike hoodie and a pair of dark sunglasses.

She captioned the post: “Last day at the doctors in Wuhan. Feeling better now. Shame I couldn’t continue there, but thank you for the messages,” alongside a love heart emoji wrapped in a bandage.

After their match on September 7, Li was the first to wish Raducanu a speedy recovery in her victory speech. She said: “First, I want to wish Emma a fast recovery. Not sure what, but looked like she wasn’t feeling good.

“But yeah, tough match last time, so I knew it was going to be tough, but I wish her to feel better. I’m happy with my performance, I wasn’t pretty solid the entire match.”

The sweltering Chinese conditions and punishing humidity levels have wreaked havoc, not only at the Wuhan Open but at the Shanghai Masters too. On October 9, play in Wuhan was pushed back from 1pm to 3pm due to the scorching heat.

Temperatures soared to around 36 degrees Celsius, whilst humidity levels lingered near 60 per cent. World No. 7 Jelena Ostapenko also withdrew from her clash against Sorana Cirstea.

The Latvian had been whitewashed 6-0 in the opening set and trailed 2-1 after dropping serve to the Romanian when she chose to pull out.

Taking to social media, Ostapenko, who won the French Open in 2007, attributed her withdrawal to the blistering conditions, posting: “It was a tough day. I suffered a heat stroke today.

“Thank you China for the atmosphere, emotions and incredible energy from the crowd. I am truly sorry that I had to finish the match this way. Thank you to all my Chinese fans. I will be back stronger next year.”

In Shanghai, Novak Djokovic has also described the conditions as brutal, having thrown up on court while Holger Rune was also heard telling a supervisor: “Why doesn’t the ATP have a heat rule? You want a player to die on the court?” in protest against the conditions.