Emma Raducanu pulls out of 2024 Miami Open due to lower back problem but team says ‘nothing serious’

Emma Raducanu has pulled out of the upcoming Miami Open due to a reported back injury but her management team says it is “nothing serious”.

The 21-year-old Briton had been due to face Xiyu Wang on Tuesday in the first round, but her name has been taken off the draw and she will not play at the WTA 1000 tournament.

Afterwards she spoke about feeling “positive” following an injury-disrupted 2023.

“It was a good success, I would say,” said 2021 US Open winner Raducanu.

“I think I have handled myself a lot better on the match court. I was a lot more positive and hungry to play, and that showed I think in the tennis that I did play.”

The latest injury is Raducanu’s first setback of the season when she appeared to be putting the worst of her fitness problems behind her, having missed much of the previous two years with various ailments.

She underwent wrist and ankle surgery last year but she has been able to compete in the Australian Open, the Abu Dhabi Tennis Championship, the Qatar Open, and the ASB Classic so far in 2024.

As a result of Raducanu’s fitness and form struggles, she is currently ranked No. 288 in the world, meaning she was obliged to start in the first round while top-ranked players enter the tournament in the second round in Florida.

Iga Swiatek is the defending Miami Open champion after triumphing last year.

The world No. 1 has been in impressive form after her Australian Open second-round disappointment, and she has won the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Masters over the last month.