Brit No. 1 Emma Raducanu has been forced to withdraw from the Miami Open due to illness, possibly caused by a virus she contracted earlier this year. As a result of withdrawing just a few days before her opening-round match in Miami, Raducanu is expected to drop in the live WTA rankings.
It is believed that Raducanu may have caught the virus during her run in the Transylvania Open in Cluj in February. Now, the former US Open champion plans to resume play during the clay-court swing, with the WTA 500 event in Linz, Austria, as her first tournament after skipping the Miami Open and the Charleston Open.
Raducanu had a difficult start to her 2026 season. She was forced to retire from her opening match at the United Cup due to an injury, and then suffered a second-round exit at the Australian Open. While she seemed to get back in form at the Winners Open in Romania, the Brit suffered a defeat against Sorana Cirstea in the final.
Further, Raducanu had a poor run in the Middle East swing, getting knocked out of both the Dubai Open and Qatar Open in the second round. At Indian Wells, while the former World No. 10 won her opening round match, she was thumped in R3 by Amanda Anisimova, thereby adding to her ongoing troubles on court this season.
Tennis Legend Martina Navratilova Unhappy With Emma Raducanu’s Coaching Change Decisions
While it has been a challenging year for Raducanu, she has not stayed away from social media criticisms, mainly due to her frequent coaching changes. Currently, Raducanu is back under the guidance of Mark Petchey, but the 2021 US Open champion has had 10 different coaches since turning pro in 2018.
The Brit parted ways with former coach Francisco Roig after her shocking Australian Open exit in January. She hasn’t had a full-time coach since then, resulting in facing criticism from fans; analysts, and even tennis icon Martina Navratilova has disapproved the same during an exclusive interview with Sky Sports.
“You need somebody full-time. You don’t need to have a great coach all the time. Maybe somebody even part-time, which is kind of what she’s got. You need to buy into the coach and stay there for a little bit longer. I think that’s the biggest mistake – she’s been through too many people, and then you get so many different ideas, and you don’t quite know which one to stick with,” Navratilova said.
Only time will tell whether Raducanu is back to her best ahead of the clay-court swing, which commences on March 30.
Also read:
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in tennis, college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
