British No 4 Katie Boulter was forced to retire from her opening match of the Hong Kong Open against Alexandra Eala due to injury. 

Boulter was trailing 2-1 in the second set, after losing the first 6-4, when she called her physio over and burst into tears after realising she would not be able to play on.

Eala, 20, has had a break-out season, reaching the semi-finals of the Miami Open as a wild card, shocking Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek on the way.

"I'm a little out of words," Eala said. "I think this time of the year is tough moments for a lot of players, physically and mentally, being the end of the season.

"I hope that Katie can take this time to recover and just look back at her season proudly."

Boulter has won three tour-level matches since Wimbledon, falling 55 places in the WTA rankings since the end of last season when she ranked at No 24.

This comes as several high-profile players have retired from matches due to injury or even decided to end their 2025 campaign early, including Novak Djokovic and Emma Raducanu.

Djokovic retired from the Six Kings Slam exhibition due to wanting to focus on his physical problems so he is fit for the end of the season, but he then also pulled out of the ATP Paris Masters.

British No 1, Raducanu, announced the end to her season earlier this month after suffering from an illness that forced her to retire from her previous two matches.

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