Emma Raducanu broke down in tears during her opening set at the Korea Open -after opting to play the tournament over her Billie Jean King Cup commitments.
The British No 1 opted to focus on the Asian swing – and bolstering her ranking points ahead of next yer’s Australian Open – over playing for country as part of Team GB’s tilt at the finals in China.
Raducanu had been selected by Anne Keothavong, but the team’s captain was said to have been shocked by the player’s 11th-hour decision to skip their finals clash against Japan in Shenzen this week.
The 22-year-old previously helped her country reach the semi-finals last year in Malaga, but previously skipped the qualifiers in the spring against Germany and the Netherlands.
Focusing on the tour instead, Raducanu overcame severe weather delays to pull off the first-round win in Seoul against world No 41 Jaqueline Cristian.
The former US Open champion had initially been due to face off with her Romanian opponent on Tuesday, before the tie was delayed amid torrential rain.
Emma Raducanu broke down in tears during her opening set at the Korea Open on Wednesday
Raducanu later rallied to pull of the win in straight sets against Romania’s Jacqueline Cristian
Further delays came as standing water on the court was cleared, before Raducanu and Cristian could finally begin their round-of-31 clash.
But amid a challenging spell in the first set, Raducanu also had to battle her emotions, with the Briton left in tears for as-yet unknown reasons.
Through adversity, Raducanu then rallied and won the match in straight sets.
Images of Raducanu breaking down on court brought to mind the player’s horrifying stalker ordeal earlier this year, which saw the star in tears and forced to hide behind the umpire’s chair after an individual displaying fixated behaviours turned up to her match against Karolina Muchova at the Dubai Open.
Raducanu had previously been approached by the man in the Gulf State and handed a letter. He was later given a restraining order, but went on to be caught attempting to buy Wimbledon tickets despite being banned from attending the event.
The British starlet did not clarify why she had broken down on Wednesday, but did admit after the match that she had found her opening test a challenging one.
‘I’m super happy to have won. It hasn’t been easy,’ Raducanu said. ‘I feel like I’ve played this match the last three days. To have pulled through after waiting, I’m super pleased at how I came through.
‘Jaqueline is a really tough opponent and has had great results recently. (They were) tough conditions, very slow, long rallies and long points, so happy to have got through.
Scenes of Raducanu visibly emotional on court brought to mind the horrifying scenes of her ordeal in Dubai
Team GB’s Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong admitted she was disappointed with Raducanu’s decision
The world No 33 continued: ‘A big thank you to everyone who came out here and supported through the rain. Thank you to everyone.’
In Shenzen, Keothavang opted not to hold back when sharing her thoughts on Raducanu’s withdrawal.
In her place, the former British tennis player called up Raducanu’s close friend Fran Jones to join Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, and Jodie Burrage.
‘It’s obviously disappointing, but I do want the main focus to be on the players I have and the challenge we have ahead,’ Keothavong said ahead of Great Britain’s meeting with Japan on Thursday.
‘I believe in the players that I’ve got. How the team were able to perform in April to get us into this position was fantastic, and I see no reason why we can’t do the same.
‘Players will make decisions they feel is in their best interest, but my focus is just on this team. We take a huge amount of pride in this competition and we do want to be world champions.’
Thursday will also see Raducanu’s last-16 tie, with the Briton taking on former Wimbledon champion and No 8 seed Barbora Krejcikova on the tournament’s centre court.
