The reigning US Open champion, Emma Raducanu, retired in the final set of a marathon first competitive outing since bowing out at the Australian Open. The No 1 seed was forced to quit with a left hip injury after three hours and 36 minutes in the first round of the Guadalajara Open, with Australia’s Daria Saville progressing 5-7, 7-6 (4), 4-3 from the longest match of the WTA season.
The 19-year-old Briton was playing her first match since last month’s painful exit in the second round of the Australian Open, when a blistered racket hand contributed to a three-set defeat by Danka Kovinic.
Raducanu was two points from victory at the Abierto Akron Zapopan against the former world No 20, who has slipped to 610 in the rankings after undergoing surgery on an achilles tendon last year.
Serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3 Raducanu failed to close out the game, with Saville fighting back to force a tie-break then level the contest. Both women suffered physically during the deciding set, Saville battling leg cramps while Raducanu went off the court for a medical timeout.
Raducanu returned with her upper left leg heavily taped and, after two more games, decided to retire. The world No 12 will stay in Mexico for the Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey, which starts on 28 February.