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Emma Raducanu admitted she is struggling to be fit for after needing a medical timeout for her "annoying" back problem during her .

And the new could be forced to limit her playing schedule before the start of The Championships on June 30.

Asked if she is a fitness doubt for her home Grand Slam, the former US Open winner said: "I don't know" but then added: "I'm not overly concerned that it's something serious".

On the hottest day of the year, Raducanu had off-court treatment and took painkillers after losing the first set to Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng. She returned to win the next three games but was still outclassed 6-2 6-4 by the No.1 seed as the last British player went out of the WTA HSBC Championships.

Raducanu suffered back spasms before the Australian Open and then again at the Strasbourg Open last month and before her first grasscourt event of the season. She had planned to play Berlin next week - in a bid to get into the world's top 32 and be seeded for Wimbledon - but that is now in big doubt.

"I have been struggling with my back since Strasbourg, and it's just been something that's been on and off," she said. "I have been managing it pretty well over the last few weeks, but I guess as the week goes on and I have played five matches now, even if two were doubles, I think it just tests it out.

"And I just felt it as the load goes up. They took me off court and taped it to give me some extra stability, and some painkillers. It's been lingering for the last few weeks, and I have had back issues before. I think it's just a vulnerability of mine. I know I need to take good care of it. I'm not overly concerned that it's something serious, but I know it's something that's very annoying and needs proper and careful management."

Asked if she will be able to play Berlin and Eastbourne, she said: "I don't know. I need to think about that and see how it settles and recovers over the next few hours."

Her sixth consecutive WTA 500 quarter-final defeat again showed the gap between Raducanu and the very top players. She could take only three games off both Coco Gauff (Rome) and Iga Swiatek (French Open) while world No.5 Zheng was just too strong for her. "I think I have a lot of work to do, to be honest," said Raducanu.

The Chinese star still annoyed the crowd by changing her shoes mid-game on the Raducanu serve in the first set - the first of three holdups during the match. The slow hand clap - along with a smattering of boos - is the closest the well-heeled Queen's Club clientele come to an open rebellion. But the No.1 seed, who will face either Emma Navarro or Amanda Anisimova in tomorrow's semi-finals, said: "After that slip, I say: 'I have to go change the shoes or I'm gonna break my leg'. It was not easy for me today to play in front of all the British crowd."

But Raducanu claimed: "It happened three times on my service game. I don't think it's necessarily ideal, let's say. I feel like maybe something could have been done, but I'm not going to get into it."

The first semi-final will be between Australian Open champion Madison Keys and German veteran Tatjana Maria.