Emma Raducanou pulled out of next week’s WTA tournament in Austin due to tonsillitis, extending the streak of injuries and ill health she’s suffered since winning her US Open title in September 2021.
The decision, which was made shortly after the draw, means that Radukanou has only played four matches this season. She retired from her second match against Victoria Kuzmova in Oakland with an ankle injury.
Now Radukanu is ranked 80th in the rankings and is gradually coming back due to complete exhaustion, as she does not participate in tournaments while her rivals are playing. Her critics will no doubt take note that since her last performance at the Australian Open, her Instagram feed has featured one court practice photo and three promotional posts. (One for Tiffany & Co, one for Dior and one for HSBC.)
Radukanu traveled to Texas early to prepare for that WTA 250 event, but fell ill soon after. She remained in the US and is set to travel to Indian Wells next week for what is often unofficially referred to as the “fifth major.”
After spending part of the off-season working with highly regarded gym coach Jez Green, Raducanou arrived in Australasia in January looking healthier and stronger than last year. But even when she competes, she often carries some small things. She came to Wimbledon last summer with a strained abs and struggled with her ankle in preparation for Melbourne last month.
“I’ve done a lot of physical work in the last few months and feel good and optimistic,” she said after the crash in Oakland seven weeks ago. “So being stopped by a strange ankle injury is pretty disappointing.”
Radukanu retired four times in the middle of a match last season and did it again in New Zealand. She also dropped out of a number of tournaments, not competing. Covid disrupted her training for the 2022 Australian Open and then she withdrew from the October Transylvania Open due to wrist problems that hampered her training for most of the last off-season.
Her fragility means she has only played 45 games since her miraculous US Open victory 17 months ago. During the same period, Iga Swiatek played exactly 100 matches – although that may not be a fair comparison as Swiatek is world No. 1 and therefore most likely to play deep in most tournaments. Most players would be in the 70s or 80s.
Radukan could use some results in the so-called “solar double” of the big American tournaments – Indian Wells and Miami – over the next five weeks. If her lack of wins continues, she risks falling out of the top 100 by the end of April.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
