“I was struggling to move,” a major setback for Emma Raducanu as she agonizes over yet another injury


“I was struggling to move,” a major setback for Emma Raducanu as she agonizes over yet another injury

Emma Raducanu

Britain’s No.1 Emma Raducanu was in great form at the Madrid Open before she crashed out of the round of 16 after going down against Anhelina Kalinina. Raducanu gave her best but was beaten 2-6, 6-3, 4-6 by Ukraine’s Kalinina. The Brolwy youngster suffered from immense back pain and that majorly hampered her progress in the Spanish capital.

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She was seen clutching her back a few times and after the match, she revealed that there was some issue on her back which did not allow her to play to her potential against the Ukrainian. She revealed, “I was struggling a bit with my back. I went into the match with it. Throughout the week I have been carrying some niggles, and it’s kind of just taking its toll, all of the matches at this kind of level.”

The US Open champion highlighted how she struggled moving wide right from the second game. She gave herself only a 5% chance and was happy that she could at least give a fight. “From the second game, I was really struggling to move wide. I would have given myself a 5 per cent chance of winning that match, and for it to almost happen, I think that was a positive thing,” she added.

Can Emma Raducanu be a dark horse at Roland Garros?

Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu shared how some treatment at the timeout worked like magic for her but it was not enough for her to sustain the whole game and earn a place in the last eight at the Madrid Open. “But then after, at the timeout, I don’t know what magic they worked, but like I had a numb back for the second and third set so I couldn’t feel anything and managed to fight my way back in and obviously give myself a chance in the third set but small margins,” the 19-year-old added.

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The young Brit has been pretty good on tour, especially on the clay-court events. She reached the quarterfinals at the Stuttgart Open which was her debut clay-court event on tour. She showed great fight at the Madrid Open keeping aside her injury concerns. So many experts feel that she can be a dark horse ahead of Roland Garros. But for now, she needs to recover and be absolutely ready for the big event in Paris.

Also Read: “Emma Raducanu can be dangerous at the French Open,” Barbara Schett feels the US Open champion has everything to succeed on clay