Emma Raducanu retires from first-round match after having on-court blood-pressure test

Emma Raducanu retired due to illness from her opening match at the Qatar Open after having her blood pressure checked on court.

The British No.1 was looking to return to winning ways against Camilla Osorio just two days after she lost her first final since 2021.

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Raducanu came racing out of the blocks in her bid to beat the world No 80 and claimed her first set in Doha on what is her third visit.

The 23-year-old secured a 6-2 first-set win in 37 minutes, but her depleted energy levels saw Colombian Osorio fight back.

Raducanu had her serve broken midway through the second en route to a 6-4 victory to set up a decider between the two.

Raducanu retires from first-round match

Following a lengthy bathroom break ahead of the third, the Brit instantly dropped serve again in the first game.

Raducanu signalled for the physio and needed her blood pressure checked, as she has done several times over the past few years.

The world No.25 managed to return to the court for one last Osorio service game, which proved a straightforward hold.

Raducanu then hung her head and walked to the net to end her Qatar Open campaign at 2-6, 6-4, 2-0 in favour of her rival.

The 2021 US Open champion was back in action only two days after she failed to win her first title since that historic New York triumph.

She admitted on Saturday that her fitness had been affected because she was ‘battling a bit of a chest infection’.

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Raducanu fell to a 6-0, 6-2 defeat against home favourite Sorana Cirstea in Cluj-Napoca, 24 hours after her gruelling three-hour semi-final victory over Oleksandra Oliynykova.

“I’ve already been battling a bit of a chest infection, but that [semi-final] match took it out of me extra,” Raducanu told BBC Sport after her defeat in the Transylvania Open final.

“So today, I was pretty gassed from the start.

“But I would much rather have this situation than have lost that match and not played today and be a part of the final.

“So for me, zero complaints.”

Raducanu’s latest retirement is the ninth in her career on the WTA Tour, and comes just four months after her last in China.

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Raducanu was forced to retire in the first round of October’s Wuhan Open, but had for the most part shown improved endurance in 2025.

Emma Stewart, who used to work for British Rowing, has recently been hired to replace fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura in her team.

Raducanu has also recently announced she parted with Rafael Nadal’s former coach, Francisco Roig, in January.