Raducanu concludes her 2025 season!

With the 2025 season entering its golden autumn in October, Andreyeva, Paolini, and Leylagina continue battling intensely for the final two singles places at the year-end championships. On the other hand, the WTA250 Guangzhou event has revealed its singles wildcards, granting main draw entries to Chinese players Zhang Shuai, Wang Xiyu, Guo Hanyu, and American player Stephens. These players will face off against renowned competitors like Putintseva, Siniakova, and Kudermetova to claim the title.

Although the season is nearing its end, several tournaments such as WTA500 Tokyo, WTA250 Hong Kong/Jiangxi/Chennai, and ATP250 Metz/Belgrade are still pending, giving players ample opportunities to earn points and prize money before the year closes.

However, for former British Grand Slam champion Raducanu, her 2025 season has already come to an end. After losing in the first round of this week’s WTA500 Ningbo event, falling 6-3, 4-6, 1-6 to Chinese player Zhu Lin in a comeback defeat, Raducanu announced her withdrawal from the Tokyo 500 and Hong Kong 250 tournaments, officially ending her 2025 campaign.

In the opening round at Ningbo this week, Raducanu won the first set 6-3 but suffered a back injury during the match that severely limited her movement and caused a surge in unforced errors. Even a medical timeout failed to improve her condition, yet she fought to finish the match.

Born in 2002, Raducanu became a Grand Slam champion as early as the 2021 season. At that year’s US Open, she defeated players like Bencic, Sakkari, and Fernandez consecutively, achieving a ten-match winning streak to become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era.

However, Raducanu’s progress after that did not meet expectations. Instead, persistent injuries caused interruptions in her career. In the four Grand Slams of 2023, the British star only played the Australian Open at the start of the year, and she missed the French Open in 2024. This year marks only her second consecutive season participating in all four majors.

This season, Raducanu’s overall performance has been quite solid, accumulating a record of 28 wins and 22 losses. At the Australian Open earlier this year, she defeated players like Anisimova to reach the women’s singles round of 32 at Melbourne Park for the first time in her career.

Additionally, Raducanu reached the women’s singles quarterfinals at the Miami Open and the semifinals in Washington. Her highest world ranking this season climbed to No. 29.

Of course, Raducanu also sparked controversy this season due to her tournament choices. As a British player, she withdrew from the Billie Jean King Cup in September and instead competed in the Seoul event held at the same time, leading to criticism that she placed personal interests above national pride.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)