Emma Raducanu sustained a back issue while preparing to kick off her season and was forced to withdraw from the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland.
On Tuesday, the Briton was due to meet Robin Montgomery in the ASB Classic first round.
But instead of taking to the court, the former world No. 10 announced that she picked up an injury and also claimed that she did her best to play in Auckland but ultimately didn’t manage to recover in time.
For Raducanu, battling an injury just before the Australian Open is definitely not the ideal scenario.
But her withdrawal was probably heartbreaking and devastating news for the tournament organizers as well.
Emma Raducanu© ASB Classic/Instagram – Fair Use
What Auckland tournament director said when Raducanu signed up for the tournament?
In November, the ASB Classic shared that the 2021 US Open winner agreed to return to their tournament.
When revealing the news, Auckland tournament director Nicolas Lamperin didn’t hide his happiness, openly admitting that they were thrilled to have the Briton because she draws attention and sells tickets.
“Someone like Emma will always be on top of our list, she’s a marquee player, her ranking doesn’t really matter in terms of the star power that she brings to the tournament,” he said in November.
“It’s an investment but it’s worth it. We’ve seen the effect on ticket sales, every time we have announced her there is always a major spike. We have also seen the reaction from our sponsors when we are having a discussion and sharing the possibility that she might be coming.”
Now that Raducanu is out of the tournament, it has probably created some disappointment among the organizers but also tennis fans in New Zealand who wanted to see the 22-year-old in action.
In the past, the British tennis star picked up back-to-back Auckland round-of-16 exits in 2023 and 2024.
Tennis World USA