Emma Raducanu criticized the “slippery” courts at the ASB Classic in Auckland after retiring from her second-round match with an ankle injury.
The Briton left the court in tears after rolling her ankle during the second set against Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova, with the score 6-0 5-7.
It is just 11 days before the Australian Open begins in Melbourne.
“The courts are incredibly slick, so to be honest it’s not a surprise that this happened to someone,” said Raducanu.
The British number one, who didn’t drop a game in the opening set, told New Zealand website Stuff: “It’s difficult to take. I’ve put a lot of physical work in the last few months and I’ve been feeling good and optimistic.
“So to be stopped by a freak injury, rolling an ankle, is pretty disappointing.”
The match was played on an indoor court because of persistent rain in Auckland.
Raducanu, who said she would assess the injury over the next few days, tried to play on after receiving medical attention but withdrew two points into her opening service game at the start of the third set.
The 2021 US Open champion had an injury-blighted 2022 season, retiring from five matches, but said she was injury-free and feeling “good” following an exhibition match in December.
She began 2023 with victory over teenager Linda Fruhvirtova in her opening match in New Zealand in preparation for the season’s first major.
Elsewhere, Coco Gauff beat fellow American and former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-4 to reach the Auckland quarter-finals.
The 18-year-old number one seed will next play China’s Zhu Lin, who defeated seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams 3-6 6-2 7-5 in a rain-interrupted match that had to be moved on to an indoor court.
Zhu won the final four games of the match as she came from 5-3 down in the deciding set. Williams served for the match at 5-4 but the Chinese world number 84 broke and saved four break points as she held serve to move 6-5 ahead before again breaking serve.
“Outside it was really tough, it was rainy, windy. It was tennis, but it was more about surviving instead of playing great,” said Williams, who has been given a wildcard entry to the Australian Open.
“Indoors it was completely different but I got to hit a lot of balls, so that’s important.”
At the Adelaide International, the Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova, 18, set up a quarter-final with Belarus’ two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, 33. Noskova beat the United States’ Claire Liu 6-2 6-2, while Azarenka overcame China’s Zheng Qinwen 6-2 7-5.
Tunisia’s world number two Ons Jabeur also reached the last eight with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 win over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, while 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was beaten 6-3 6-0 by Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.
(BBC)
