TENNIS

Raducanu will play at the Miami Open after being granted a wild card

The British player will be able to feature in the WTA Masters 1000 tournament after struggling to get good results in 2024.

Emma Raducanu hasn’t had a good start to the year but she will have the chance to redeem herself. The 21-year-old British player will feature in the Miami Open after being granted a wild card that will allow her to play against the very best players in the WTA tour.

The former 2021 US Open champion is currently ranked at No. 252 in the world after being out of action for most of 2023 following surgery, so she couldn’t have direct access to the event.

Raducanu, who could also receive another wild card to feature in Indian Wells, has a protected ranking that she can use to enter tournaments due to the time she was away from the courts. However, her protected ranking is 103, which is not high enough to be in the main draw at Indian Wells.

Raducanu has a 3-4 win-loss record this season, including a first-round straight-sets defeat in Doha against Anhelina Kalinina.

Raducanu, more matches to find her best form

After being inactive from April 2023, the Briton has been struggling on the court. However, she believes that as she gets the chance to know in advance where she will be playing, she will find the form required to be as competitive as she was in the past.

“It’s hard for me to get used to the tour schedule,” she said after being eliminated in Qatar.

“It’s one tournament then another straight away. I need to schedule my tournaments a bit better and try to get more matches under my belt”, she added.

The Miami Open event announced that Raducanu will be playing in the event via its website:

Raducanu, whose fairytale run at the 2021 US Open saw her become the first champion in the Open Era to come through qualifying and claim victory without losing a single set, is eagerly anticipated to make her return after missing much of the 2023 season due to injury. Her promising start to the current season follows an eight-month break.”

Besides Raducanu, Caroline Wozniacki, Venus Williams, and Kei Nishikori have been granted wild cards to compete in the second Masters 1000 event on US soil this month. The Miami Open will take place between March 20-31, with Indian Wells preceding it between March 6-17.

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