Emma Raducanu has been unable to recover from the injury that forced her to retire from the Korea Open quarter-final, withdrawing from the China Open just hours after the draw was made.
Raducanu made her return to the court last week for the first time since losing in the opening round of the US Open at the end of August.
Impressive wins over Peyton Stearns and No 8 seed Yue Yuan set up a fascinating tie against Daria Kasatkina.
However, the British star retired midway through the match having struggled with a foot problem.
Emma Raducanu has pulled out of the China Open
REUTERS
She remained in the draw for this week’s China Open and said last week that she was looking forward to playing in the home country of her mother for the first time in her career.
However, Raducanu has been forced to withdraw from the tournament to continue her recovery.
She said on X: “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.”
Harriet Dart faces a tricky first-round match as she has been drawn to face 21-year-old Clara Tauson.
If she progresses to the second round, Dart will be up against No 3 seed Jasmine Paolini.
British No 1 Katie Boulter has been given a bye to the second round of the competition as one of the 32 seeded players.
The 28-year-old was drawn in the same section as Coco Gauff and the pair could meet in the third round.
Raducanu will have another chance to play in China next month as the WTA Tour ends the season in Asia.
Get well soon, @EmmaRaducanu 💜@DKasatkina advances to the semifinals after Raducanu retires due to injury.
Final score: 6-1. #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/yXUhxDNxiR
— wta (@WTA) September 21, 2024
The Wuhan Open returns for the first time since 2019 next week and Raducanu has signed up to go through the qualifiers for the event.
Speaking before her injury setback, Raducanu appeared confident of finding her best form in Asia.
“I always knew there was a really long block in Asia at the end of the year and I didn’t want to overdo myself in the first half of the year,” Raducanu said.
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Emma Raducanu suffered a foot injury at the Korea Open
REUTERS
“If you look at the tournaments I played it was relatively light.
“I skipped quite a few weeks over the clay knowing that I’m at the stage where I’m not trying to win every event on the clay, on the grass and hard.
“I have to prioritise and Asia was one of those for me. So I stacked the year on the backend heavy, because I’m excited.
“I thrive in Asia. It’s where I truly feel like home. So I’m buzzing for that trip even though it’s at the end of the year. I’m looking forward to going out there and trying to take it.”