Emma Raducanu’s WTA ranking is set to slump once again next week after her withdrawal from the Miami Open due to injury.
The 21-year-old, who was given a wild card for the prestigious WTA tournament, was set to play China’s Wang Xiyu in the first round on Tuesday.
However, pain in her lower back caused Raducanu to pull out, with the Kent star unwilling to take any risks.
It is another blow for Emma Raducanu in her attempts to establish herself as a consistent presence on the WTA Tour and it ensured her already depleted ranking would remain in decline.
Emma Raducanu is projected to be ranked at No 299 when the new list is released next week, with that lowly number highlighting how much work she needs to do to get back to the top.
The former US Open champion was sidelined from May until the end of last season after undergoing surgery on both wrists and one ankle, the latest in a long line of injury problems since winning at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
Emma Raducanu made her return at the start of this year and showed promising signs by making the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells last week before losing to Aryna Sabalenka.
Her withdrawal in Miami casts possible doubt over her availability for Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup tie with France next month, with the challenge of staying fit proving to be as big as her mission to climb back to the top of the game.
Raducanu continues to get strong backing from some of the biggest names in the game and former British No 1 Tim Henman is always one of her biggest supporters.
“Form is temporary and class is permanent and seeing her level of play straight away in Auckland and then Melbourne, I was really impressed with her tennis level,” he said, reflecting on her comeback after she missed most of 2023 due to wrist and ankle surgery.
“Having played so little you could see that her level was excellent but that doesn’t surprise me because she’s that good. That’s never been in question, and I do feel she’ll get to the top again.
“For me, it’s all about the physical resilience. If she could play 20 events this year without any setbacks, that would be hugely positive.
“She’s been doing the gym work and she’s getting fitter, stronger and faster, and that will give her the resilience to compete on the match court.
“Her level of tennis is exceptional and to a certain extent that will always be there although of course, she needs to practise.
“The physical resilience is the important bit but, having had a big break, she’s much more refreshed, she’s in a much better place mentally.”
The positive news for Raducanu is she has very few ranking points to defend for the rest of 2024, so every match won between now and the end of this year is set to boost her ranking and allow her to make big leaps forward on the WTA list.
Returning stars Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki have enjoyed big leaps up the WTA rankings after they made a comeback to the sport and Raducanu could enjoy similar leaps if she can string some wins together.
Emma Raducanu’s next main tour event is scheduled to be the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart in the middle of April and before that, she is due to play for Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup match in France on April 12.
