Emma Raducanu issues health update after doctor visit as statement made

Emma Raducanu has said she is "feeling better" after retiring from her Wuhan Open match early. Raducanu, 22, was hopeful of going far in her second competition in China in a matter of days.

She suffered a narrow loss to Jessica Pegula in the round of 32 at the China Open in Beijing before she turned up at Wuhan. However, when she appeared on Centre Court in Hubei province for her match against Ann Li, it immediately became obvious she was struggling with the boiling hot weather conditions. She dropped the first set to the American 6-1 and was 4-1 down in the second when a WTA physio and tournament doctor came to see her. After the consultation, Raducanu retired from the match and the competition with dizziness. Three days later, the 2021 US Open winner provided an update on social media to her followers.

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On Threads, she uploaded a picture of herself perched on a hospital bed in China, wearing a navy blue Nike hoodie and a set of dark sunglasses.

She wrote: "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 with a bandage wrapped around it.

Speaking after their match on September 7, Li was the first person to wish Raducanu well 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, but yeah, I'm happy with my performance, I wasn't pretty solid the entire match."

The Chinese heat and dehydrating levels of humidity have caused havoc, not just at the Wuhan Open but at the Shanghai Masters as well. On October 9, the start of play in Wuhan was delayed from 1pm to 3pm as a result of the heat.

Weather temperatures reached around 36 degrees Celsius, with the humidity hovering at close to 60 per cent. Jelena Ostapenko, a 2017 French Open winner, also retired from her match against Sorana Cirstea.

At the time, the Latvian had lost the first set 6-0 and was also 2-1 down, having lost her serve against the Romanian, when she decided to retire from the contest. On social media, Ostapenko blamed her retirement on the searing heat, writing: "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."