Emma Raducanu injures ankle ahead of Australian Open

By The Associated Press

FILE - Venus Williams, of the United States, reacts during her first-round doubles match with Serena Williams, against Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova, of the Czech Republic, at the U.S. Open tennis championships on Sept. 1, 2022, in New York. Williams has been awarded a wild-card entry to play at the Australian Open in January 2023, 25 years after she played the Grand Slam tournament for the first time. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Frank Franklin II]

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Emma Raducanu blamed slippery indoor courts for an ankle injury which forced her to withdraw from the ASB Bank Tennis Classic on Thursday, less than two weeks before the start of the Australian Open. The 2021 U.S. Open champion was in tears after retiring in the third set of her second-round match against Slovakian qualifier Viktoria Kusmova. The British player slipped late in the second set and then summoned the trainer who heavily strapped her left ankle during a lengthy injury break. The 20-year-old Radacanu attempted to continue and was serving in the first game of the third set when she tearfully indicated she could not play on.