emma raducanu encountered a worrying injury scare just days before the french open, after being defeated by american danielle collins at the strasbourg open. despite winning the first set, raducanu eventually lost the match 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
the 22-year-old brit left the court during the second set of her round-two match to receive treatment for a back issue, although she later returned to continue playing.
raducanu took the first set with strong play, but found herself trailing 5-0 in the second before calling for a medical timeout. she returned ten minutes later but could not regain control of the match.
this loss ends a promising streak of performances on clay for britain’s no. 2, who had been building momentum with three straight wins at the italian open and a dominant display against daria kasatkina earlier in the week.
in the opening set, raducanu only made six unforced errors and sealed the set with a couple of aces. one break was enough to put her ahead on court patrice dominguez. however, collins came back strong after the break between sets, breaking raducanu twice early in the second and holding serve to go 5-0 up.
raducanu struggled to find her rhythm, particularly on her first serve, and her shots lacked precision before she left for a medical break, clearly bothered by her back. she had earlier nearly missed the australian open due to a similar issue. after returning, she managed to win a game but collins took the set to force a third.
the deciding set was close, with collins breaking first to lead 3-2. raducanu immediately fought back to level at 3-3 after a long sixth game. however, collins then broke again without dropping a point and held her serve to go 5-3 up. she finished off the match with one final break.
collins will now go up against anna kalinskaya, who earlier upset top seed jessica pegula.
speaking courtside, collins said: “to be good at anything, expressing yourself matters. most successful people are true to themselves. i’m a competitori’m not quiet or reserved. i push to win and know what it takes.”
she added, “you need to show energysometimes it’s positive, sometimes negativebut that’s part of competing. in today’s world, it’s tough with all the criticism, but if you stay true to yourself and give your best, good things will come.”
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