Emma Raducanu given medical attention during epic Australian Open defeat
Emma Raducanu suffered another health scare as the Briton lost a marathon second-round match against China’s Wang Yafan at the Australian Open.
Raducanu received medical attention on court after clutching her chest and appearing to suffer breathing difficulties during the deciding set.
The 21-year-old had her blood pressure and pulse taken before being given the all-clear to resume but could not avoid a 6-4 4-6 6-4 defeat.
It brought a premature end to the former US Open champion’s first Grand Slam for 12 months and continued her record of never making it past round two in Melbourne.
The result also capped a miserable day for British players at the tournament which saw women’s No1 Katie Boulter and rising star Jack Draper crash out.
Earlier, men’s No1 Cameron Norrie battled back from two sets down to beat Giulio Zeppieri 3-6 6-7 6-2 6-4 6-4.
Raducanu has endured a lengthy battle with different fitness problems, including needing surgery on both wrists and an ankle last year.
Her impressive Grand Slam debut, at Wimbledon in 2021, was also curtailed by illness when she retired with breathing difficulties and sickness in a fourth-round match with Ajla Tomljanovic.
Raducanu called for assistance against Wang shortly after levelling the match by winning a gruelling 65-minute second set.
She recovered sufficiently to play on but eventually succumbed to the former top-50 player in a contest that lasted almost three hours.