Emma Raducanu's injury concerns go from bad to worse as Brit withdraws from China Open after Korea Open scare

Emma Raducanu's struggles in the 2024 season continue as she has pulled out of the 2024 China Open in Beijing, scheduled from September 25 to October 6. The British player cited a new injury as the reason for her withdrawal.

Raducanu competed in the Korea Open before she was about to arrive in China. She kicked off her campaign on a strong note, defeating Peyton Stearns and eighth seed Yue Yuan in straight sets, before facing Daria Kasatkina in the quarterfinals.

The Brit, however, retired from her match against the Russian after playing one set and trailing 1-6. She even took a medical timeout but ultimately had to withdraw due to an injury in her left foot.

On September 23, the day the draw for the China Open was revealed, with Emma Raducanu set to begin her campaign against a qualifier or lucky loser, she took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce her withdrawal.

"Hello, last week in Seoul I sprained some ligaments in my foot which unfortunately need some more time to heal. It means I can’t play in Beijing but I hope to be back competing as soon as I can," the 2021 US Open champion wrote.

Raducanu has joined a lengthy and star-studded list of withdrawals from the WTA 1000 tournament, including World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur, and Danielle Collins.

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Emma Raducanu misguided by her team, suggests Kim Clijsters

Emma Raducanu pictured at the 2024 US Open | Image Source: Getty

Emma Raducanu has yet to win a single Tour title since her breakthrough victory at the 2021 US Open, where she became the first qualifier in tennis history to win a Grand Slam. Since then, she has struggled with consistency and has frequently changed coaches.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters weighed in on Raducanu's situation during a conversation with Andy Roddick on an episode of his podcast, 'Served with Andy Roddick,' following the Brit's exit in the opening round of the 2024 US Open.

The Belgian proposed several theories that may have contributed to the 21-year-old's struggles, including difficulty coping with media pressure and expectations, as well as some form of "misguidance" within her team.

"It her [Emma Raducanu]? Is there other things going on mentally where she’s kind of just had it with media, pressure… whatever it is. It’s only those two things that could be the cause," Clijsters said (at 47:47).

"I don’t know enough about her, I don’t know her personally, I don’t know her team, I really don’t know much about that whole situation. I’m sorry but if you have a team of coaches around you or whoever is in charge, there’s obviously some misguidance there," she added.