Emma Raducanu has been Forced to Pull out of the Upcoming Hong Kong Open due to ongoing Injury Struggles just days after Confirming her Intention to Play

Emma Raducanu has been forced to pull out of the upcoming Hong Kong Open due to ongoing injury struggles just days after confirming her intention to play.

The British star has not played since suffering a ligament injury at the Korea Open in Seoul last month, though looked set to return at the WTA 250 event in Hong Kong next week.

However, the former US Open has now been forced to withdraw from the tournament, joining the likes of Naomi Osaka and Danielle Collins in pulling out of the event due to physical issues.

Raducanu’s latest setback has scuppered her plans to play multiple tournaments and get a significant number of matches under her belt.

She was criticised for playing a limited summer schedule ahead of the US Open, where she lost in the opening round to Sofia Kenin.

Speaking ahead of the Korea Open in Seoul, the 21-year-old revealed that the Asian swing was going to be a significant priority of hers.

Raducanu commented: “I think the rest of the year, as long as I’m healthy, I’m going to try and finish the season and play as many matches as I can.

“It’s something I’m really light on since the grass through the (Washington) DC period. I’ve not played many points, even in practice.

“I think I had three hours of match experience which can only aid me going into the next few weeks.

“For me now, I just want to play matches and, in the meantime, do a little bit of work on my game where I can.”

Things started brightly for Raducanu in Seoul, reaching the last eight before she was forced to retire injured to Daria Kasatkina in their quarter-final clash.

Since then, she has withdrawn from WTA 1000 events in Beijing and Wuhan and further Chinese events in Guangzhou and Ningbo, before Tuesday’s withdrawal in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Open was being held in the final week of the normal WTA Tour calendar, with the only event left being the WTA Finals.

That means Raducanu has played her final WTA Tour match of 2024, though she is still set to represent Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, which start on November 13th.

However, considering her recent injury blow, it would not come as much of a surprise if she was forced to also withdraw from the prestigious team tournament.

Raducanu is currently ranked 55th in the world, having started 2024 down at 285th following a disrupted 2023 season.