Emma Raducanu's injury woes resurfaced as she was forced to retire from her Korea Open quarter-final match against top seed Daria Kasatkina. The 21-year-old British player, who had just lost the first set 6-1, withdrew due to a persistent foot issue.
Raducanu had previously triumphed over two top-50 players in Seoul, defeating American Peyton Stearns and China's Yue Yuan to reach the last eight. Aiming to secure her second WTA Tour semi-final appearance, having also reached the last four in Nottingham in June, the 2021 US Open champion faced initial setbacks when her match against world No. 13 Kasatkina was postponed due to rain on Friday.
When the match finally commenced on Saturday, Raducanu, who had expressed a desire to play as many matches as possible before the season's end, was broken by her Russian opponent in the second game. Although she immediately broke back, Raducanu was unable to sustain her momentum. After Kasatkina secured the set, Raducanu decided to concede the match, shaking her opponent's hand due to a worsening issue with her left foot.
