April 26, (THEWILL) – Emma Raducanu, the British number one tennis player, has withdrawn from the Madrid Open due to a hand injury just hours before her first-round match against world number 73, Viktoriya Tomova.
The winner of that match would have gone on to face the world number one, Iga Swiatek, in the second round. The tournament organisers released a statement announcing her withdrawal, citing the injury as the reason.
Raducanu had not given any details about her health during a brief press conference ahead of the tournament. However, she has been struggling with a wrist problem for several months. Following her loss to Bianca Andreescu at the Miami Open, Raducanu mentioned that she was considering options regarding the issue.
She said: “It is something I’ve been managing for some time. Yeah, I just need to review after this tournament really and figure out what my next steps are.” It is unclear when Raducanu will return to the court. With her withdrawal from the Madrid Open, she will drop out of the top 100 for the first time since her historic 2021 US Open win. If she remains outside the top 100 after the Italian Open, she may need a wildcard to compete at Wimbledon this summer.
As of now, there will be no British women in the main draw in Madrid, while Cameron Norrie, Andy Murray, Dan Evans, and Kyle Edmund will represent the country in the men’s draw.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
