Emma Raducanu could miss Ningbo Open after suffering in Wuhan's heat

The world No 30 took on American Ann Li in the first round of the WTA 1000 tournament in soaring conditions in Wuhan, but she struggled in the heat as she lost the opening set 6-1 and was 4-1 down in the second set when she called for a medical timeout.

The 2021 US Open winner looked uneasy on her feet, and her blood pressure and temperature were checked by a medic before she decided to retire from the match.

Raducanu didn't talk to the media after the encounter and her team also didn't offer any feedback about her condition, but four days after the match, she finally gave insight into her health - and it was clearly a lot worse than just struggling with the hot and humid weather.

In a post on Threads, she shared an image of herself sitting on a hospital bed accompanied by the caption: "Last day at the doctor's in Wuhan... feeling better now, shame I couldn't continue there but thank you for the messages."

Raducanu is not the only player to have complained about conditions at the tournament as several other players have retired from their matches with Bianca Andreescu writing, "Wuhan weather really said: 'Go play tennis in a sauna'," on social media.

Jelena Otapenko, who also retired from her opening match, wrote: "It was a tough day. I suffered a heat stroke today."

Raducanu, though, is due to return to action next week as she has signed up for the WTA 500 event in Ningbo, but her update has raised doubts about whether she will make her debut at the tournament.

The event has already suffered some big withdrawals as world No 4 Amanda Anisimova - who was due to be the top seed - is out with a calf injury while Daria Kasatkina won't defend her title as she has ended her 2025 season early.

The British No 1 - who has climbed one place to No 29 in the Live WTA Rankings - has been handed a wildcard entry and for now, her name remains on the entry list.

The 22-year-old was due to make her debut at the event 12 months ago, but a foot injury sustained at the Korea Open forced her to miss the Ningbo event and several other tournaments on the Asia swing.

She is also due to compete at the Pan Pacific Open before bringing her 2025 WTA Tour season to an end at the Hong Kong Tennis Open. 

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