Emma Raducanu sadly won't be able to compete at this week's WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing after contracting a foot injury in Seoul last week.
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On Saturday, the Briton was playing her fifth WTA quarterfinal of the year and hoping to make her second semifinal. But early in the match, she appeared to be struggling with her movement - and after she took a medical timeout but still lost the opening set 1-6 to No. 1 seed Daria Kasatkina - she walked to the Russian and shook her hand.
Instantly, it raised concerns that Raducanu may be forced to miss the China Open. And unfortunately, exactly that has happened as the 21-year-old will have to wait for at least another year to make her debut in Beijing.
Previously, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina also pulled out of the China Open.
Raducanu's plans for the Asian swing have already been derailed
After appearing in just two hard-court tournaments during the summer, the 54th-ranked Briton was targeting to have a fully-stacked schedule in Asia.
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"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... I have to prioritize 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," Raducanu told WTA Insider in Seoul.
But now instead of taking part in a WTA 1000 tournament, the 21-year-old has to think about how she can quickly and successfully recover from her ongoing foot issue.
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It remains to be seen if Raducanu can recover for the Wuhan Open, which starts on October 7th.
