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Emma Raducanu has pulled out of her third consecutive tournament and will miss the upcoming Madrid Open as she continues to recover from an illness she picked up in February. The British No. 1 has not played a match since losing to Amanda Anisimova in Indian Wells six weeks ago, and also missed the Miami Open and the Upper Austria Ladies Linz while dealing with post-viral symptoms.

Raducanu is still hopeful that she will return to competition and begin her clay season at the Italian Open, which kicks off at the beginning of May. It's understood that she has been training again, but isn't ready to compete in Madrid.

Her withdrawal comes as another blow for tournament organisers, after world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and three-time former champion Novak Djokovic withdrew within hours of each other on Friday. Alcaraz picked up a wrist injury at this week's Barcelona Open, while Djokovic is dealing with a lingering injury and is not yet ready to compete.

Raducanu, meanwhile, picked up a viral illness in February and struggled during the Transylvania Open final, where she lost to Sorana Cirstea. She then jetted to the Middle East for the WTA 1000 events in Doha and Dubai. Raducanu retired mid-match in Doha and lost in the opening round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The world No. 29 later said that, with hindsight, she should have skipped these tournaments. Raducanu then entered Indian Wells, where she won one match before suffering a bruising 52-minute defeat to Anisimova. She has not played since.

Raducanu reached the second round in Madrid last year before losing to Marta Kostyuk, and will lose 35 ranking points as a result of this year's withdrawal. The Brit fared better at the 2025 Italian Open, where she stormed into the fourth round before losing to Coco Gauff.

It's been a difficult season for Raducanu, who has had her bid for consistent form ruined by injuries and illness. A foot injury derailed her pre-season, and she only started playing practice points days before her first match of the year at the United Cup.

The 23-year-old suffered a second-round defeat at the Australian Open and then parted ways with Spanish coach Francisco Roig. She has since travelled with her hitting partner, Alexis Canter, and physiotherapist Emma Stewart.

There were positive signs when Raducanu reached her first final since the 2021 US Open, finishing runner-up in Cluj in February. But she picked up a viral illness, and the lingering symptoms have since derailed her season.