Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the upcoming Miami Open due to a reported back injury, but her management team assures that it is not serious.
The 21-year-old British player was supposed to play against Xiyu Wang in the first round on Tuesday, but her name has been removed from the draw, and she will not be participating in the WTA 1000 tournament.
According to the Times, she mentioned a lower back injury as the reason for her withdrawal, while her management company stated to the BBC that the injury is not severe.
Raducanu made it to the third round at Indian Wells last week before being eliminated by Aryna Sabalenka. She expressed feeling optimistic despite a year disrupted by injuries in 2023.
“It was a good success, I would say,” said 2021 US Open winner Raducanu.
“I think I have handled myself a lot better on the match court. I was a lot more positive and hungry to play, and that showed I think in the tennis that I did play.”
Raducanu recently suffered an injury, marking her first setback of the season.
She had been working hard to overcome fitness issues that had plagued her for the past two years.
Despite undergoing wrist and ankle surgeries last year, she managed to participate in several tournaments in 2024, including the Australian Open and the Abu Dhabi Tennis Championship.
Due to her ongoing fitness challenges, Raducanu is currently ranked No. 288 in the world. This means she had to start in the first round of the tournament in Florida, while higher-ranked players begin in the second round.
Raducanu has been selected for Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team and may compete against France next month.
Swiatek is the current Miami Open champion, having won last year.
Despite a setback at the Australian Open, the world No. 1 has bounced back with victories at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Masters in the past month.
