Emma Raducanu has given fans an update after missing three tournaments due to lingering symptoms from a viral illness she picked up in February. The British No. 1 has not played a match in almost two months, pulling out of the Miami Open, the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, and the Madrid Open.
Raducanu seemed to get ill during her run to the final of the Transylvania Open and had her vitals checked as she lost the championship match to Sorana Cirstea. But she decided to head to the Middle East and played her opening match in Doha just two days later, retiring in the third set.
The 23-year-old lost her first match in Dubai a week later, and then won a round in Indian Wells before suffering a 6-1 6-1 defeat to Amanda Anisimova. That came more than seven weeks ago. She has not played since.
The withdrawals have prompted questions about Raducanu’s fitness and the lingering illness. But the world No. 27 has now offered a positive update in an Instagram comment.
Raducanu shared a photo dump on Tuesday afternoon, and one fan wrote: “I can’t wait to see you back out on court soon. I hope you’re feeling a lot better now.” The Brit replied: “Much better thank you x”.
It’s hoped that Raducanu will return to competition at the Italian Open next week. Although she withdrew from the WTA 1000 event in Madrid, it was understood that the British No. 1 had started training again and was hoping to be back in Rome.
The French Open then gets underway on May 24. Raducanu has never been beyond the second round in Paris, but if she’s able to make a comeback at the Italian Open, she should be back at Roland Garros too.