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Emma Raducanu suffered a worrying injury scare during her loss to Danielle Collins in the Round of 16 of the Strasbourg Open. This comes just days ahead of the Roland Garros, which she hopes to participate in. She revealed after the match that the injury was frustrating and disappointing.
Raducanu has been performing well on clay this season and has already begun to receive praise from legends. The former World No.10 had won four matches ahead of the Strasbourg Open, one in Madrid and three in Rome. In Strasbourg, she earned her first win by beating Daria Kasatkina in straight sets.
She was looking set to continue with the same form against Collins after winning the first set 6-4, but she begun fading badly in the second set. When it was 0-5, she took an off-court medical time out for a back injury after calling the trainer.
She returned to the court after the injury scare as Collins forced the match to a decider. In the third set, the pair traded early back-and-forths in a tense match, but ultimately Collins broke Raducanu’s final two service games and triumphed 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Strasbourg Open.
After the match, Raducanu revealed that she struggled with a back problem during the tie. She added that it began while playing against Kasatkina in the opening round. This is not the first time the British star has had a back issue this season as she was forced to withdraw from the Auckland Classics in January as well.
I felt it after the first round. Yesterday I just tried to manage it, like, I got treatment. I was pretty stiff and sore. I've had back problems before. At the start of the year I was out for a few months because of it. Yeah, it's annoying and it's frustrating. I get these spasms and they're quite intense and can last for a long time. I'll just try and make it better.
Raducanu will hope that the back problem is nothing too serious ahead of the French Open. She has not played the Roland Garros since 2022, withdrawing from the 2023 edition due to injury while skipping the 2024 edition after not being given a wildcard.
Danielle Collins reveals how she defeated Emma Raducanu at the Strasbourg Open
Danielle Collins looked hungrier for the win against Emma Raducanu on Wednesday (May 20). The American had a mixed season before the Strasbourg Open and had dropped to World No.46 after the Italian Open. The last year’s finalist was at the risk of dropping outside the Top 50 had she not beaten Raducanu.
She will not be seeded at the French Open, but she needed the win to boost her confidence ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season. She revealed after the match that she had to play an aggressive style to beat Raducanu:
I knew playing Emma that I would have to play my aggressive game style The more that I did that, I think that I was able to kind of stay in control of the points and really push her. She played really well and gave me some challenges – but I just kept going after it.
On the other hand, if Raducanu had beaten Collins she would have entered into the Top 40 of the WTA rankings. She’s currently ranked World No.43rd but will move up to No.41 when the WTA rankings is updated soon. She has no points to defend at the Roland Garros giving her a chance to rack up more points.
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