Emma Raducanu causes concern after what she told fans following her practice at the China Open

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Emma Raducanu may have faced a setback ahead of her debut appearance at the China Open this year.

Raducanu withdrew from Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team and elected to play at the Korea Open instead.

This decision split opinion, but Raducanu wanted to spend more time with new coach Francisco Roig before the end of the 2025 season.

Raducanu also has her eyes set on being seeded at the Australian Open next year, but she lost in the second round of the Korea Open and now appears to have suffered another setback.

Emma Raducanu appears to be struggling physically ahead of China Open

Raducanu suffered a heartbreaking loss in her second round match at the Korea Open, losing to two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova, despite having three match points.

The Briton is now looking ahead to making her first appearance at the China Open, but Raducanu was spotted looking uncomfortable when practicing.

Watched on by fans ahead of the WTA 1000 tournament, Raducanu apparently appeared uncomfortable and was touching the side of her body, seemingly showing discomfort.

Raducanu was also unable to complete her practice session and reportedly told fans that she was not feeling very well before leaving the court.

This is a concern for Raducanu, who was also forced to miss a lot of the Asian swing last year due to a foot problem.

The positive news for the 2021 US Open champion is that she will be seeded for the China Open, and therefore has a few more days to prepare and recover from any issues as she receives an automatic bye to the second round.

Will Emma Raducanu be seeded for the Australian Open next year?

Raducanu has been very open about her goal of being seeded at the Australian Open next year, which would be the first time she would be seeded at any Grand Slam tournament since the 2022 US Open.

That goal appears to be looking more realistic every week, and Raducanu is in a great position to secure it after rising to world number 32, which is the last ranking that would give her a seeded spot at a major.

After missing the latter stages of the 2024 season, Raducanu now has no more ranking points to defend this year and if she stays fit can now only continue rising this year with a busy schedule ahead.

Raducanu has entered four tournaments over the Asian swing, all of which she has never actually played before.

The first of those will be at the China Open, which gets underway on Wednesday, September 24, but Raducanu will start a couple of days later after receiving a bye.