Emma Raducanu withdraws from another tournament as ongoing health issues plague British tennis star

Ed Griffiths
Wed, 01 Apr 2026 09:34:24 +0000

Emma Raducanu will not compete at the Linz Open next week as Britain's top-ranked female player continues her recovery from a viral illness, according to her representatives.

The 23-year-old contracted the illness during her time in Romania at the start of February and has been dealing with lingering symptoms ever since.

Her team confirmed that regaining full fitness remains the priority for the 2021 US Open champion.

The withdrawal from the Austrian tournament follows her earlier decision to skip the Miami Open.

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Raducanu has put a focus entirely on her rehabilitation rather than rushing back to competitive action.

She has also chosen not to represent Great Britain in the upcoming Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Australia.

The Madrid tournament later this month now appears to be her targeted comeback event.

Her most recent competitive appearance came at Indian Wells on March 8.

Despite a promising start, she suffered a heavy 6-1, 6-1 loss to Amanda Anisimova in the third round.

Anisimova dismantled the British number one in a mere 52 minutes, with the statistics painting a damning picture of Raducanu's struggles.

The Briton managed only two winners throughout the entire match compared to 21 from her opponent, who had beaten her twice in their three previous encounters this year, and failed to threaten a break point

Speaking afterwards, Raducanu admitted she felt a lack of power had contributed to her low-key display.

She said: "I need to obviously be aggressive when playing those players, but I think there's still a long way to go to be doing that and I need to use my strengths and probably mix it up a bit more."

Prior to the tournament, Raducanu had spoken of wanting to return to her "natural way of playing" which she felt had been coached out of her.

Off the court, the Kent-born player parted ways with coach Francisco Roig in January and has since been training informally with Mark Petchey as she works to rediscover her best form.

Raducanu has cycled through nine different coaches on a full-time or significant trial basis since her professional breakthrough.

The Bromley-based star first burst onto the global tennis scene during the summer of 2021, gaining national attention at Wimbledon that year.

Entering as a wildcard ranked 338th in the world, she reached the fourth round in her first-ever Grand Slam main draw appearance.

Her rise to global superstardom came just two months later at the 2021 US Open, where she won the tournament without dropping a single set across 10 matches.

Raducanu became the first British woman to win a major singles title since Virginia Wade in 1977.