Why did Emma Raducanu retire from ASB Classic 2023? A detailed timeline of the Brit's injuries

Emma Raducanu rewrote the history books at the 2021 US Open by becoming the first player in the Open Era, male or female, to win a Grand Slam tournament as a qualifier. At just 18 years of age at the time, she won all ten of her matches (three qualifiers and seven main draw fixtures) in straight sets at Flushing Meadows, including the title clash against Canada's Leylah Fernandez.

The tennis world embraced her with open arms, having found its latest sensation who had a dreamlike start to her career. Cut to January 2022 and the 2021 US Open title remains Raducanu's only singles title. After her victory in New York, things went downhill for the youngster as she suffered one injury after another, along with a change in her coaching staff every few months. Current coach Sebastian Sachs is her sixth since June 2021.

Raducanu achieved a career-high ranking of No. 10 in July last year but a first-round loss at the 2022 US Open took away a massive amount of her points, resulting in a significant slump. She is currently placed in the 78th position in the WTA rankings.

Why did Emma Raducanu retire from ASB Classic 2023?

Due to a wrist injury in October, Raducanu called off her 2022 season prematurely. The 20-year-old started training for the new season and made a comeback at the ASB Classic in Auckland. In the first round, she defeated Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic in three sets.

Emma Raducanu was scheduled to face World No. 134 Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia on Thursday but due to heavy rainfall, the match was shifted to indoors. The Brit played unbelievable tennis at the beginning, taking the first set 6-0. Near the end of the second set, she rolled her ankle and lost 7-5. After a medical timeout, she decided to retire and left the court in tears. This puts her Australian Open participation in jeopardy with just 11 days to go before the event begins.

A detailed timeline of the Brit's injuries

Emma Raducanu has struggled with inconsistency and injuries

Britain's No. 1 player, Raducanu, has had to retire mid-match and skip tournaments due to injuries on multiple occasions since making her WTA debut in June 2021.

2021 Wimbledon was the first tournament that saw her stop in the middle of a match. In the fourth round at SW19, Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic was leading 6-4, 3-0 when Raducanu faced difficulty in breathing and couldn't continue further.

Her second withdrawal came at the Abierto Zapopan in 2022. Having won a set each, Emma Raducanu and Australia's Daria Saville were battling in the decider. However, severe cramps in her leg forced the Brit to retire.

Canada's Bianca Andreescu was leading 6-2, 2-1 in the opening round of the 2022 Italian Open when a back problem resulted in Raducanu's mid-match retirement.

The first round of the 2022 Nottingham Open saw the 78th-ranked player withdraw after only seven games in the opening set. She complained about pain in her left rib against Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic.

Next was the 2022 Korea Open, where Raducanu and Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko were fighting for a spot in the finals. Ostapenko broke twice and was leading 3-0 in the third set when the 2021 US Open winner stopped due to a glute injury.

A wrist injury in October 2022 then led Raducanu to pull out of the Transylvania Open and the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.