World No. 252 Emma Raducanu granted a wildcard for the 2024 Miami Open, participation in Indian Wells still in doubts
The former US Open champ is confirmed to return to action having skipped all events since her first-round loss in Doha.
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Emma Raducanu (Via Imago)
Former World No. 10 Emma Raducanu will return to action soon after a long break. The Briton last played at the WTA-1000 Qatar Open in Doha. She suffered her maiden first-round defeat of the season as Anhelina Kalinina defeated her in straight sets.
Raducanu also conceded a bagel in the first set against the Ukrainian. She was set for a wildcard to play in the WTA-1000 Dubai Championships as well. But she turned it down and returned to the UK to practice and prepare for the next events.
She has been absent from the Tour since her exit in Doha, which has eventually affected her rankings too. She has dropped to World No. 252, making direct qualification into the main draw impossible. But to her aid, the Miami Open has offered her a wildcard.
This will make things easy for her, as she can skip the qualifiers. She was one of the three ladies who were confirmed for a wildcard today. Along with her, Grand Slam singles title winners Venus Williams and Danish icon Caroline Wozniacki were also handed wildcards.
In men’s singles, former US Open runner-up Kei Nishikori has also been extended the wildcard. The Japanese star has been out of action for a while now and could use the entry method to get some main-draw match practice.
While it’s good news for Raducanu to secure qualification in Miami’s main draw, the Sunshine Double’s participation is still in doubt. With less than a week to go until the 2024 Indian Wells Open, the Briton is yet to be named as one of the wildcards.
This could result in her either missing the WTA-1000 tournament or making her way via the qualifiers, depending on the ranking cutoff. As per journalist James Gray, the 2021 US Open winner has nevertheless taken the flight to Los Angeles in hopes of playing in the Indian Wells Open.
Emma Raducanu is winless in the Miami Open so far in her career
The former British No. 1 has a poor record at the Miami Open so far. She made her debut at the tournament in 2022 and had a bye in the first round.
She made her event debut against doubles specialist Katerina Siniakova but lost in three sets, crashing out in the second round. Raducanu returned to the competition last year and faced Canadian hotshot Bianca Andreescu.
In the battle of the US Open winners, the Canadian came out on top, winning the clash in three sets. As a result, the 21-year-old British prodigy is 0-2 at the tournament. Hopefully, she will register her first win at the event this year.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)