British tennis player Emma Raducanu’s struggle with injuries continued at the Korea Open as she was forced to retire in the 3rd set in the semifinal against Jelena Ostapenko at 4-6, 6-3, 3-0. 19-year-old Raducanu won the first set but her injuries surfaced in the second set. She took an off-court medical timeout but continued to suffer pain during the rest of the match.
https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1573591183204311041
Ostapenko made the most out of the opportunity as she took the second set and raced ahead in the decider before Raducanu retired injured. The official reason for her retirement was a left glute injury. The injury ended Raducanu’s best streak since her historic run at the US Open last year of 3 consecutive match wins.
Ostapenko and Emma Raducanu faced each other for the first time on tour and the match saw an intense start. In the opening game, Ostepenko saved 3 break points and went on to break Raducanu to quickly go 2-0 up. Emma responded immediately as she broke to get back on serve. She secured a decisive break at 4-4 and went on to serve the set-out.
Emma Raducanu injury scare continues
Raducanu brought the same energy in the 2nd set and broke Ostapenko again for 2-1. 2017 Korea Open champion found consistent accuracy from this point onwards and broke to go up 3-2. After Raducanu returned from her medical timeout, Ostapenko continued the assault and went up 5-2 to close the set.
Raducanu by this time looked lost and Ostapenko kept founding winners as she raced away 3-0 in the decider. Emma Raducanu retired at this point giving Ostapenko a walkover. She will face Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final who defeated Tatjana Maria in the other semifinal 6-2, 6-4.
https://twitter.com/WTA/status/1573594954135281666
Raducanu defeated Magda Linette in the quarterfinal to register her best run since her US Open victory last year with 3 consecutive victories and 1st semifinal in a regular WTA tournament. Korea Open marked another tournament where Raducanu had to retire mid-match due to injury concerns.
Ostapenko and Alexandrova will look forward to winning their 2nd title of the season. Alexandrova leads the H2H 3-1 against Ostapenko. She won at their last meeting at the Madrid Open this year 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. They faced each other at the 2018 Korea open where Alexandrova defeated Ostapenko in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. Jelena Ostapenko will look forward to winning the title and extracting revenge in their 5th meeting on tour.
