Emma Raducanu had to retire from her epic battle with Daria Saville at the Guadalajara Open
(Picture: AP)Injury forced Emma Raducanu to retire early from the longest match of the WTA Tour season so far in Mexico.
The British No1 was playing her first contest since losing in the second round of the Australian Open in January, battling world no426 Daria Saville at the 2022 Guadalajara Open.
And Raducanu recovered from an early break of serve to claim the first set 7-5 at the Panamerican Tennis Center, only to lose a gruelling second on a tiebreak having earlier had the opportunity to serve out the match.
Tuesday’s match had been in progress for some three hours and 36 minutes when the reigning US Open champion had to call it quits down a break in the third set, having earlier gone off court for a medical timeout and returned with her upper left thigh heavily taped.
Australia’s Saville - who herself was suffering from cramp in a marathon clash - will face American qualifier Caroline Dolehide in the round of 16 of the WTA 250 tournament tomorrow.
Raducanu - who currently sits at 12th in the world rankings - was also affected by injury at the Australian Open, beating fellow former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in round one before falling to Danka Kovinic in three sets as she dealt with blisters on her racquet hand.
Her only other tour match this year was a crushing first-round defeat by Elena Rybakina at the Sydney Classic in January.
Raducanu will hope to recover from injury quickly in time for next week’s Monterrey Open, where the defending champion is the fellow teenager she memorably bested in the US Open final at Flushing Meadows last year - Leylah Fernandez.
