Are Emma Raducanu's persistent physical problems cause for concern?

Emma Raducanu has only played 10 tour-level events in her professional career, but she’s now retired from four of them. 

The latest came in the Guadalajara Open, where she suffered a hip injury in the deciding set against Australia’s Daria Saville –– bringing an end to a match that lasted three hours and 36 minutes. 

Raducanu was within two points of victory in the second set and only needed to hold her serve to progress. However, Saville fought back to level the contest and the Brit then called for the trainer at 4-3 down in the final set. 

The injury proved too severe to continue and she was forced to retire, handing Saville a memorable win. 

This was Raducanu’s first appearance since the Australian Open, where she was also hampered by physical problems. The 19-year-old won a pulsating contest against Sloane Stephens to reach the second round but suffered blisters on her hand against Danka Kovinic, which limited her ability to generate any power on her forehand. 

Despite hitting forehand slices for almost two sets, Raducanu came agonisingly close to winning the match, though she later revealed she probably wouldn’t have been able to compete in the third round even if she’d won. 

The Australian Open was further proof that Raducanu is anything but a quitter, having had her mental strength questioned after last year’s Wimbledon. 

Raducanu made the fourth-round at the All England Club in her first-ever major tournament but suffered breathing difficulties against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic that caused her to retire in the second set. 

Yet, are these persistent injury problems a cause for concern? The US Open champion admitted she needed to work on her fitness after Melbourne and posted a video recently showing herself