Britain’s Emma Raducanu retired at 6-0 5-7 in her second-round match against Viktoria Kuzmova at the WTA 250 Auckland Classic on Thursday after rolling her ankle, casting doubt on her participation at this month’s Australian Open.
Former U.S. Open champion Raducanu swept the first set in 22 minutes but faltered in the second and had her left ankle examined during a medical time-out, before leaving the court in tears after being unable to complete the first point of the decider.
The Australian Open begins on Jan. 16.
Earlier, Coco Gauff beat fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-4 to set up a quarter-final match against China’s Zhu Lin, who outlasted Venus Williams 3-6 6-2 7-5 in a rain-hit match that ran two hours and 23 minutes.
Williams, 42, served for the match at 5-4 in the final set but Zhu broke and then fended off four break points before closing out the victory.
At the Adelaide International 1 WTA 500 event, two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka saw off Zheng Qinwen 6-2 7-5 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals alongside unseeded duo Irina-Camelia Begu and Linda Noskova.
via Reuters
