Emma Raducanu faced another injury setback during her quarter-final match at the Korea Open, ultimately retiring against Daria Kasatkina. The 21-year-old British player had just dropped the first set 6-1 when she had to withdraw due to a painful foot issue.

Despite this disappointment, Raducanu demonstrated her skills earlier in the tournament by defeating two top-50 opponents: American Peyton Stearns and China’s Yuan Yue. She was keen on reaching her second WTA Tour semi-final after making it to the last four in Nottingham this past June. However, her highly anticipated match against world No. 13 Kasatkina was delayed by rain on Friday, adding to the mounting pressure.

Once the match kicked off on Saturday, Raducanu, who had expressed a strong desire to compete in as many matches as possible before the season’s conclusion, found herself struggling early on. Although she managed to break back after being broken in the second game, she failed to regain her rhythm. After Kasatkina clinched the set, Raducanu approached the net to shake hands, acknowledging the tough decision to retire due to her left foot injury.

This foot issue had previously surfaced during her round of 16 match against Yuan, where she took a medical timeout but still emerged victorious with a score of 6-4 6-3. In the wake of Raducanu’s retirement, Kasatkina expressed her sympathy for the young player, stating, “I feel sorry for Emma. It’s a pity to get injured, especially in the deeper stages of the tournament. I wish her a speedy recovery.”

Later that day, Kasatkina returned to compete in her semi-final match, having to play twice due to the prior day’s rain delays. She faced fellow Russian and fourth seed Diana Shnaider, winning 6-3 6-4 in a challenging match where Shnaider also dealt with an injury.

Shnaider, who had previously defeated Ukrainian fifth seed Marta Kostyuk in the quarter-finals, called for a medical timeout in the second set of the semi. Unfortunately, she lost three consecutive games, allowing Kasatkina to progress to the final. There, she will meet Brazil’s Haddad Maia, who earlier showcased her dominance against lucky loser Polina with a score of 6-2 6-1, and then defeated former French Open quarter-finalist Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 6-4 in the semis.