Emma Raducanu has decided to withdraw from her third consecutive tournament and will be absent from the upcoming Madrid Open as she continues to recover from an illness she contracted in February. The British top player has been out of action since her loss to Amanda Anisimova at Indian Wells six weeks ago, also missing the Miami Open and the Upper Austria Ladies Linz due to post-viral symptoms.
Despite her setbacks, Raducanu is looking forward to returning to the court and potentially starting her clay season at the Italian Open in early May. While she has resumed training, she feels she is not yet ready to compete in Madrid.
Her withdrawal adds to the challenges faced by tournament organizers, as world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, a three-time former champion, also pulled out of the Madrid Open recently. Alcaraz sustained a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open, while Djokovic is still recovering from a persistent injury.
Raducanu fell ill with a viral infection in February and struggled during the Transylvania Open final, where she was defeated by Sorana Cirstea. Following that, she participated in the WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Dubai, withdrawing mid-match in Doha and exiting in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The young player acknowledged that in hindsight, she should have withdrawn from those tournaments. Since then, Raducanu has not played any matches after her brief appearance at Indian Wells, where she suffered a quick defeat to Anisimova.
Although Raducanu reached the second round in Madrid last year, losing to Marta Kostyuk, she will lose 35 ranking points due to her withdrawal this year. In a more successful campaign in 2025, she made it to the fourth round of the Italian Open before being defeated by Coco Gauff.
Raducanu has faced a challenging season with injuries and illnesses affecting her form. A foot problem disrupted her pre-season, and she struggled to find her rhythm leading up to her first match of the year at the United Cup. Despite reaching the final of the Cluj tournament in February, she has been battling with persistent symptoms from a viral illness that have hampered her performances.
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