Emma Raducanu has decided to withdraw from her third consecutive tournament and will be missing the upcoming Madrid Open as she continues her recovery from an illness she contracted back in February. The British No. 1 has not played a match since her defeat to Amanda Anisimova at Indian Wells six weeks ago and has also opted out of the Miami Open and the Upper Austria Ladies Linz due to post-viral symptoms.
Despite this setback, Raducanu remains hopeful about returning to the court and kickstarting her clay season at the Italian Open scheduled for early May. Reports suggest that she is back to training but is not yet ready to compete in Madrid.
Her absence adds to the challenges faced by tournament organizers, with world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, a three-time former champion, also pulling out recently. Alcaraz sustained a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open, while Djokovic is still recovering from an ongoing issue and is not fit to participate.
Raducanu fell ill with a viral infection in February and faced difficulties during the Transylvania Open final, where she lost to Sorana Cirstea. Following that, she participated in the WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Dubai.
In Doha, Raducanu withdrew mid-match and exited in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. Reflecting on these events, the current world No. 29 admitted that in hindsight, she should have withdrawn from those tournaments.
After a brief appearance at Indian Wells, where she secured one victory before a tough defeat to Anisimova, Raducanu has been off the court since then. Last year in Madrid, she reached the second round but was defeated by Marta Kostyuk, leading to a loss of 35 ranking points due to this year’s withdrawal.
In a more successful stint at the 2025 Italian Open, Raducanu advanced to the fourth round before being stopped by Coco Gauff. However, injuries and illnesses have plagued her recent campaigns, disrupting her pursuit of consistent form.
Raducanu faced a foot problem during her pre-season preparations and had minimal practice sessions before her first match of the year at the United Cup. Following a second-round exit at the Australian Open, she parted ways with coach Francisco Roig and has since been guided by her hitting partner, Alexis Canter, and physiotherapist Emma Stewart.
Despite facing setbacks, Raducanu showed promise by reaching the final in Cluj in February, marking her first final appearance since the 2021 US Open. Unfortunately, the viral illness she contracted has continued to impact her season, leading to her current absence from competitions.
