Britain's second seed, Emma Raducano, has withdrawn from her first-round match against Robin Montgomery at the Auckland Open.
Raducano, ranked 56 in the world and who reached the round of 16 in the last two editions of the tournament, said she “did her best to be ready” after the withdrawal.
“I love Auckland and the fans here, but unfortunately I had a bad back and I won't be ready in time,” the 2021 US Open winner added.
Australian Open 2025: Will Raducano play?
It is now certain that Raducano's next match will be at the Australian Open, which begins on January 12, with the women's final on January 25.
Her seeding means she will not be seeded for the first major tournament of the year, where she will be making her fourth straight appearance.
The 22-year-old had been eliminated in the second round in each of those previous three seasons. Her only appearance beyond the second round at a Grand Slam since her victory in New York was a fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon 2024.
Raducano insulted
Raducano now works with fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura, and the main concern may be a lack of competitiveness having played just three matches since spraining ligaments in her foot in September.
Those three contests ended with victories for Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Trophy finals, and Raducano also suffered a first-round defeat at the 2024 US Open that month to current world No. 81 Sofia Kenin.
Raducano returned to the tour last January after an eight-month absence, including surgery on her wrists and left ankle.
She withdrew from the Miami Open last March due to lower back pain, saying she “didn't want to risk anything happening.”
Auckland Open: Borg through
World number 24 Katie Boulter is the British top seed, while there is a British presence at the Auckland Open in the form of Jodi Berg.
The British player, ranked seventh and ranked 179th in the world, lost in the qualifiers, but gained a place in the main draw after the injury of Belgian Elise Mertens.
Berg took advantage of this by winning 6-3, 6-3 over New Zealander Vivian Yang, a wild card participant, adding that her appearance came as a quick surprise on a “crazy day.”
