(Tennis news) Emma Raducanu was forced to retire during her first-round match against Bianca Andreescu in the Italian Open due to a back injury. The 19 year old was trailing 6-2 2-1 at the time of her withdrawal and was seen clutching her back when she took a medical timeout but returned just minutes later, after which her Canadian opponent took the opening set. At the start of the second set, Raducanu looked uncomfortable yet again and took the decision to retire when the score was 2-1, claiming that she couldn’t move. 

The World Number 12 has failed to replicate her form that saw Raducanu win the US Open last year but did manage to reach the quarter-finals in Stuttgart and the last 16 at the Madrid Open, where she faced back issues as well. Raducanu is currently without a full time coach after splitting with Torben Beltz last month. She will be aiming to return to full fitness ahead of the Roland Garros in two weeks time.

In the men’s results, Novak Djokovic defeated Aslan Karatsev 6-3 6-2 in the second round. The World Number 1 is on his way to win his sixth Italian Open title and needs to at least reach the semi-finals to maintain his ranking after missing out on a number of tournaments due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19. The Serbian made only 10 unforced errors compared to Karatsev’s 36 and will now face either Stan Wawrinka or Laslo Djere in the next round. British number 1 Cameron Norrie also won his second round match against Luca Nardi 6-4 6-4 and will now face Marin Cilic in the next round.

Also read: Injury plagued Wawrinka wins at the Italian Open while Osaka withdraws