Emma Raducanu will seek specialist medical opinion on her troublesome right wrist injury.
The British No1 played through clear pain at the Miami Open on Wednesday in a 6-3 3-6 6-2 first-round defeat by fellow former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. The 20-year-old will now seek answers to the continuing problem.
“It’s something I have been managing for some time,” said Raducanu. "I just need to review after this tournament really and figure out what my next steps are.
"Will I get some alternative advice on it? Yeah, because we have been managing it, keeping on top of it. I'm able to play in the short-term, but the current solutions aren't very viable long-term.
"This year has been difficult in the sense that I have been managing a few existing injuries. That has been annoying and frustrating because I've been working as best as I can, but I feel like I'm enjoying the competition.”
Raducanu's plight harbours worrying comparisons with Laura Robson, the 2008 junior Wimbledon champion who laboured for years with chronic wrist problems.
Raducanu had arrived in Miami in improving form, after two notable wins at Indian Wells. The 2021 US Open champion pushed Andreescu to the brink in Miami but could not press on for victory.
Raducanu is now expected to take a month's rest, missing the Billie Jean King Cup clash with France in Coventry. Her clay-court programme could then start with the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart in April, with the French Open starting at Roland Garros on May 28.
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