A visibly distressed Eugenie Bouchard was forced to retire midway through her match with Andrea Petkovic at the China Open in Beijing on Monday due to dizziness.
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It was the Canadian's first competitive match since a concussion led her to retire hurt from the US Open in September.
The world number 28 pulled out of last month's tournament at Flushing Meadows, New York after slipping in the locker room and sustaining an injury to the back of her head after her third round win against Dominika Cibulkova.
She was due to play Roberta Vinci in the fourth round, and was still in the women's doubles and mixed doubles events at the time.
The after-effects of the concussion forced Bouchard to withdraw from the following two tournaments.
Trailing Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 1-1 in Beijing, a tearful Bouchard retired from the match after a lengthy exchange with her trainer.
"I thought I was physically ready but unfortunately the symptoms of my concussion came back," a statement from Bouchard revealed.
"I want to thank all my fans at the China Open for their support. I hope to get well soon and look forward to returning next year."
Statement from Eugenie Bouchard after her first round retirement @ChinaOpen. pic.twitter.com/xwJarvGOMJ— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider)
October 5, 2015
Petkovic expressed her sympathy on court, and later told reporters "I just asked her what happened, and she told me that she felt very dizzy.
"Then I asked if it was the same, if it was still the concussion. She said it tends to come back when she gets physically very active.
"I feel it's really bad luck because I thought she was playing so well again and I hope she gets better and keeps up her good play."
It has been a difficult year for Bouchard following marked success in 2014, when she reached the Wimbledon final and the semi-finals at the Australian and French Open.
Petkovic wishing Bouchard her condolences after the latter retires with further concussion symptoms. #class pic.twitter.com/ZfegolYd9d— Jeff Donaldson (@jddtennis)
October 5, 2015
And with that it’d be smart for Genie to just pull the plug on her season. Rest up, vacation, then a huge important off-season.— Jeff Donaldson (@jddtennis)
October 5, 2015