Emma Raducanu, the British number one, was plagued by more physical issues when she lost to Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
Raducanu, who had hoped to win three straight matches for the first time since winning the US Open in 2021, was defeated 6-2 2-6 6-4.
At the end of first set, the 19-year-old was “struggling” with a back ailment and required treatment.
She said, “I would have given myself a 5% chance of winning that match.”
“I think it was a good thing that it almost happened.”
Raducanu, ranked 11th in the world, fought back valiantly, but Kalinina regrouped to secure the victory.
As Kalinina tightened up with victory in sight, Raducanu saved a match point, but hit long, giving the Ukrainian another chance, and then volleyed wide.
However, Raducanu’s back condition is only the latest physical issue she’s had to deal with during her first full year on the WTA Tour.
In January, she suffered a blister on her racquet hand in a second-round loss at the Australian Open, and in February, she retired with a thigh ailment after a long first-round match in Mexico.
Last month, the British teenager’s Billie Jean King Cup debut was cut short due to a blister on her foot, which prompted her to bathe her feet with surgical spirit every day.
“I’ve been carrying some niggles throughout the week, and it’s simply taking its toll, all of the matches at this level,” Raducanu said, adding that he hopes to play in Rome next week.
“I think it’s a positive thing that I’m going through this and that my body is getting stronger with each match I play,” she says.
Despite the loss, Raducanu smiled as she went off the court and said she learned a lot from her time in Madrid.
The world number 11 has continued to seem at ease on a surface she believes she can thrive on, despite only making her senior clay-court debut last month.
In the second set, the teenager, who is now without a full-time coach after splitting with Torben Beltz, demonstrated her ability to problem solve as she fought back against Kalinina.
Following breaking to love in the first game of the match, Kalinina, ranked 37th after a meteoric climb over the past year, proceeded to dominate with her powerful ball-striking, particularly causing Raducanu trouble with her backhand.
Raducanu modified her tactics to battle Kalinina’s heavy returning when she returned to court following treatment, and it paid off.
To dominate the second set and force a decider, she changed up her serving and landed 78 percent of her first serves while making only one unforced error.
When Raducanu leveled the score at 3-3, Kalinina broke for a 5-4 lead with a spectacular crosscourt backhand winner, the momentum flipped again.
That proved crucial as Kalinina served out to set up a quarter-final against Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann, who has already beaten three Grand Slam champions in Madrid after victory over Sloane Stephens and Garbine Muguruza.
