Emma Raducanu has made a worrying admission ahead of her semi-final clash against Anna Kalinskaya at the Washington Open on Saturday.
The British tennis star has reached the last four at a WTA Tour event for the first time this year and has been in brilliant form at the American tournament.
Raducanu stunned seventh-seed Marta Kostyuk before knocking out four-time major champion Naomi Osaka and former world No.3 Maria Sakkari.
Next up is a showdown with Russia’s Kalinskaya – and ahead of that match – Raducanu admits she is ‘really struggling’ with the heat in Washington.
Temperatures reached 36 degrees during Raducanu’s 6-4 7-5 win over Sakkari on Friday, with the Briton saying the conditions felt like ‘you have just opened an oven and it just stayed open and your head is in there’.
Raducanu: I was getting a bit wobbly
Raducanu, looking to reach her first WTA Tour final since winning the US Open four years ago, said in her press conference: ‘I would like to say I’m pretty good in the heat, for the most part, but I was really struggling today.
‘It was one of the toughest matches conditions-wise I have ever played in. Those points in the second set, I was getting a bit wobbly. I’m just happy I could close it out and it was two sets.’
Raducanu had her vitals checked in a medical timeout late into the second set during her win over Sakkari.
The 22-year-old had only just broken Sakkari’s serve when the doctor was called onto the court.
Raducanu: I need to go and speak to the doctors
‘It was brutal today,’ Raducanu added. ‘Thank you to everyone for coming out and sitting through the heat.
‘It’s incredibly difficult playing, but actually, when I’ve sat and watched matches, in the heat when you’re not moving, it’s even harder.
‘It’s for sure physical, because if you don’t have the abilities then your body will fail you. But at a certain point, it then becomes mental.
‘I knew after the first or second game, it was such a long match, the first set was over an hour.
‘It is mental and you just have to enjoy suffering as bad as that sounds, you just know you have to leave it all out on the court until you probably drop.
‘I’m not feeling the best right now, so I just need to go and speak to the doctors.’
Raducanu vs Kalinskaya start time and how to watch
The two players are set to lock horns around 9pm UK time today (Saturday, July 26) with the clash being shown live on Sky Sports Tennis.
Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the match online via the Sky Sports website and app.
