Ranked No. 29, Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu has decided to end a season of mixed results early due to the illness she’s been battling with for almost two weeks now while competing in Asia.
As a result, the 22-year-old pulled out from the upcoming Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, the last two WTA events in her schedule this season.
The organizers of the venue in Tokyo did not provide further details; however, the former US Open champion has been struggling with the heat and high humidity levels throughout the Asian swing.
This week at the Ningbo Open, she felt unwell and fell early to the Chinese wild card Zhu Lin in three sets.
Last week, while competing at the Wuhan Open, she felt dizzy during the second set of her opening round against No. 46 Ann Li, calling for a medical timeout before retiring from her opening round, down 6-1, 4-1.
In 2025, the British No. 1 showcased a bright tennis display, probably her best since cracking into the top 10 in 2022, building the foundations to a new season alongside new coach Francisco Roig.
Raducanu joined forces with Rafael Nadal’s former coach last August, a partnership which has proven promising during the second half of the year.
The young Brit has adjusted her game to play with aggression, finding the rhythm she was lacking to produce positive results.
The highlights of her season include an inspired run to the Miami Open quarterfinals, beating seeded American players Emma Navarro and Amanda Anisimova before falling to fourth seed and runner-up Jessica Pegula.
By late July, she delivered some of her best tennis at the WTA 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open held in Washington D.C., prevailing over seventh seed Marta Kostyuk, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka, and Greek Maria Sakkari without dropping a set to reach the semifinals.
Then, she faced off against Anna Kalinskaya, who edged Raducanu in straight sets to progress into the final, where a spirited performance by Leylah Fernandez saw the No. 37 finish runner-up.
Overall, she contested 49 matches this season, the most she has ever played in a single year as a professional tennis player.
In addition, she played in 22 tournaments, finishing with a win-loss record of 28-22, and breaking into the top 30 to notch her best career year-end result.
Furthermore, Raducanu seals 2025, having reached the third round of three of the four majors.
At the age of 18, she stole the spotlight following a meteoric run from qualifying to the US Open championship match, claiming her maiden major title in New York by defeating Canadian Fernandez in a thrilling encounter.
Moreover, that day she made history for her country, becoming the first British female winner at the Slam since Virginia Wade in 1968.
That same year, she won the 2021 WTA Newcomer of the Year Award; nonetheless, a series of injuries, which required surgery, have disrupted her career ever since, making the results achieved this year even more significant.