Emma Raducanu failed to complete her opening match at the Qatar Open, retiring hurt against Camila Osorio.
Raducanu was trailing Osorio 6-2, 4-6, 0-2 in the round of 64 in Doha when she confirmed she could no longer continue.
The British number one was playing her sixth match in eight days, having just reached the final of the Transylvania Open.
Raducanu lost to Sorana Cirstea in that final in Romania, with the latter deciding to withdraw from the Qatar Open after clinching that title.
But despite Raducanu suffering from illnessalongside her lengthy run, she decided to take on the WTA 1000 event.
Emma Raducanu retired from Qatar Open due to illness
The official WTA singles main draw list has now confirmed the reasoning behind Raducanu’s Qatar retirement, citing illness.
It is the exact same for Amanda Anisimova, who was losing 7-5, 6-7(3-7), 1-4 to Karolina Pliskova in her opening match.
Anisimova is the current champion of the Qatar Open, having beaten Jelena Ostapenko in last year’s final.
Alongside the retirements, there were four withdrawals after the draw was made, including Cirstea’s change of schedule.
Meanwhile, Barbora Krejcikova, McCartney Kessler and Paula Badosa all pulled out of the tournament due to injury.
Their withdrawals followed earlier withdrawals from Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Iva Jovic and Naomi Osaka.
Raducanu’s decision to play in Qatar looks questionable, with the Briton having clearly been struggling behind the scenes.
But she also seemingly felt she was able to overcome the illness, with that confidence perhaps a result of her superb run in Romania.
That would have also motivated her to continue her fine form on the court, and that looked like being the case early on against Osorio.
The 23-year-old can instead take heart from her efforts in Transylvania, which simply must be celebrated despite the drop in level.
She has come under the microscope far too often, having constantly failed to live up to expectations after winning the US Open in 2021.
Raducanu now needs to fully rest and recover for the WTA 1000 Dubai, which returns to the schedule later this month.