Raducanu out of Ningbo Open after foot injury

Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from next week’s WTA tournament in Ningbo, China, but is still hoping to be fit to play again before the end of the season.

The 21-year-old sprained ligaments in her foot during the Korea Open in Seoul in September, and retired after losing the first set of her quarter-final to Daria Kasatkina.

She was unable to play in the WTA 1,000 events in Beijing and Wuhan and is now targeting the Hong Kong Open, which starts on 28 October.

That would represent Raducanu’s final chance to compete before the season-ending Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga.

Great Britain are due to play their first-round match against Germany on 15 November.

Raducanu is ranked 57th in the world, but her climb up the rankings has been checked by the injury and the decision to play just one tournament between Wimbledon and the US Open this season.

Having reached the second round of the Australian Open in January, Raducanu decided to skip the French Open to focus on her fitness.

She reached the fourth round at Wimbledon to return to the world's top 100 but was beaten in the first round of the US Open by American Sofia Kenin in August.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka had to come back from a set down to reach the quarter-finals at the Wuhan Open, but world number three Jessica Pegula suffered a surprise defeat.

Belarusian Sabalenka, 26, lost a one-sided first set to Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva but recovered to win 1-6 6-4 6-0, winning each of the final nine games.

However, American second seed Pegula fell to a straight-set loss to China's Wang Xinyu.

The 51st-ranked Wang is through to her first WTA 1000 quarter-final, holding her nerve to take her second match point after being broken when serving for a place in the last eight at 5-4.

Meanwhile, Italian third seed Jasmine Paolini and American fourth seed Coco Gauff both safely progressed.

Paolini won 6-3 6-2 against Erika Andreeva - who defeated sister Mirra on Wednesday - while Gauff, winner of last week's China Open, also sealed a straight-set win, beating Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-1.

Wimbledon and French Open runner-up Paolini will meet Chinese fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, after she beat battled back to win 5-7 6-3 6-0 against Canada's Leylah Fernandez.