Emma Raducanu’s WTA ranking is expected to plummet once again the following week following her injury-related withdrawal from the Miami Open.
The 21-year-old, who received a wild card into the elite WTA competition, was scheduled to face Wang Xiyu of China on Tuesday in the opening round.
Unfortunately, Raducanu had to withdraw due to lower back pain because she was not ready to take any chances.
Raducanu’s efforts to establish herself as a reliable participant on the WTA Tour have suffered yet another setback, and her already diminishing ranking is certain to continue dropping.
When the updated ranking is revealed the following week, Raducanu is expected to be ranked 299th, which emphasizes how much work she still has to do to return to the top.
Following surgery on both wrists and one ankle, the former US Open champion was sidelined from May until the end of the previous season. This was just the most recent set of injuries to plague him since his victory at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
Raducanu made her comeback at the beginning of the year, and last week at Indian Wells, she advanced to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open before falling to Aryna Sabalenka.
Her decision to withdraw in Miami raises questions about whether she will be able to play in Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup match against France the following month. Maintaining her fitness level will be just as difficult as helping her return to the top of the sport.
Some of the biggest names in the game continue to strongly support Raducanu, and one of her biggest fans is none other than Tim Henman, the former British No. 1 player.
I was really delighted with her tennis level, seeing her play immediately away in Auckland and then Melbourne,” he remarked, looking back on her return to tennis after missing the majority of 2023 due to wrist and ankle surgery. “Form is transient, and class is permanent,” he added.
“You could see that she was at a very high level despite her limited playing, but I don’t find that surprising because she is so talented. That has never been questioned, and I have faith that she will succeed once more.
It all comes down to physical toughness for me. She would benefit greatly if she could participate in 20 activities this year without experiencing any problems.
She has been working out at the gym, and this has helped her become faster, stronger, and more resilient, all of which will help her compete on the match court.
She obviously needs to practice, but her amazing level of tennis is something that will always be there to some extent.
The main thing is her physical resilience, but she’s in a much better emotional state now that she’s had a major break.
Raducanu’s good news is that she won’t have many ranking points to defend for the remainder of 2024, so any victory she gets from now until the end of the year will raise her ranking and help her climb the WTA rankings significantly.
After making a comeback to the WTA, returning players Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki saw significant increases in their rankings; if Raducanu can put together a run of victories, she may experience similar gains.
Raducanu’s next major tour stop is the WTA 500 in Stuttgart in the middle of April. However, on April 12, she is expected to represent Great Britain in a Billie Jean King Cup match in France.
