Tennis fans expressed their concern for Emma Raducanu after the British singles star appeared to play through tears in her opening match at the Korea Open.
Raducanu defeated Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-3, 6-4 in a first round match that was twice delayed by biblical rain in Seoul.
The former US Open champion was tearful during a first set that was difficult going at times for a player struggling to find her best form.
"At that point, Raducanu appeared to be fighting tears as she wiped her eyes between points," reported the Express. "She went on to regain her lead before piling on the pressure with another break and winning a routine service game to close out the set."
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Raducanu dug out a gritty victory to set up a second round meeting with Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova.
The 22-year-old was thrilled to come through the adversity. After the match, Raducanu said: "Super happy to have won today. It hasn't been easy. To have pulled through after waiting, I'm pleased with the way I came through. Tough conditions, very slow rallies and long points, so happy to have got through it."
Raducanu has unfortunately faced a horrible ordeal of a serious nature on the court already this year.
After being targeted by a stalker during a match in Dubai in February, she said she couldn't see the ball through her tears.
Tennis fans on social media showed their concern during and after Raducanu's win in Korea.
"Last time she broke down in tears like that was when her stalker showed up," guessed one fan on X, formerly Twitter.
"Her coach looks worried too," said another. "I hope she's okay."
"She seems to really be struggling," posted a fan.
'She's been on fire'
Raducanu's resilience and eventual victory shone a different light on the incident and changed the timbre of the social media reaction.
"Ever since this moment, she's been on fire," wrote one X user.
"She pulled through in straights," said another.
After the match, one fan posted: "Whatever it was, she regrouped in a big way. Straight sets victory where Emma really stepped up her level on big points."
Topics: Emma Raducanu, Tennis
Chris Nee