"All of a sudden I felt so sick, really weak... I was throwing up in my mouth" - Emma Raducanu details physical ailments in Australian Open 2R loss

Emma Raducanu discussed the physical ordeal she endured during her second-round loss at the Australian Open 2024.

On Thursday, January 18, Raducanu faced off against 29-year-old Wang Yafan in the second round. The match ended with scores 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in favor of Wang Yafan.

The Grand Slam Down Under was Emma Raducanu's second tournament since her return from injury.

In a post-match press conference, the Brit was asked by a reporter about the status of her health. The 21-year-old explained that she was playing well at the start of the game, but suddenly began to feel sick in the third set.

“Yeah, now I feel a little bit better. I had some time. During the match, I'd say, like, third set I was 30-Love up serving. Then all of a sudden just felt so sick, just really like weak and nauseous,“ Raducanu said.

Raducanu also detailed the discomfort she felt during the third set, including throwing up in her mouth.

“Throughout the third set I think everyone could see it was a bit of a battle. Like physically, body-wise, I felt fine. It was more I was throwing up in my mouth. Then after the match, it came out. Now I'm okay. Yeah, I'll get over it. It just sucks with the timing,” Raducanu said.

The World No. 296, who started her 2024 Australian Open campaign by defeating Shelby Rogers in the first round, has now faced three second-round exits in the three editions of the tournament she has competed in.

Emma Raducanu discusses what kept her going in the game

Emma Raducanu (Getty images)

In the same interview, Raducanu was asked by a reporter how close she was to retiring during the game due to weakness and nausea. The Brit stated that she had been in a similar situation before and that her experiences from the previous year had shaped her into being tougher.

“Honestly I've been in that situation before in matches, whether it was with illness or injury, and retired a few times. To be honest, with what I went through last year, you feel awful right now, at some point I couldn't really see the ball very well, but I think with everything I went through last year, it's made me so much tougher,” Emma Raducanu said.

The 21-year-old added that she made up her mind not to pull out of the game and that Wang Yafan would have to beat her.

“There was no way I was going to pull out. She was going to have to beat me, and she did. She served it out. I think the last year off and also just with the amount of niggles and everything that I had, the setbacks, it did make me a lot tougher,” she said.

Raducanu missed the majority of the 2023 season due to ankle and wrist injuries that required surgery. She made her return to the WTA Tour at the 2024 ASB Auckland Classic in Auckland, where she defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round before being knocked out by eventual finalist Elina Svitolina in the second round.