Raducanu, Joint, Kartal pull out of Miami Open

Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Miami Open with an illness.

The 23-year-old, currently ranked No. 23 in the PIF WTA Rankings, had received a bye into the second round, and was slated to play either Sonay Kartal or American Peyton Stearns.

The former US Open champion made her second career WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz final in Cluj-Napoca in February, but couldn’t capitalize on that momentum the rest of the Middle East swing, losing her opening-round matches in Doha and Dubai.

She got back on track against qualifier Anastasia Zakharova at Indian Wells last week, but lost her next match to Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-1 in just 52 minutes.

Kartal has also withdrawn from the tournament with a lower back injury. It’s the same injury that forced her to retire from her fourth-round match against Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells. It was a disappointing finish for Kartal, who was coming off impressive upsets of Emma Navarro and Madison Keys.

Australian Maya Joint has pulled out of the Miami Open as well, citing a lower back injury. The 19-year-old has lost her last six matches, dating back to the Adelaide International in January. She nearly snapped her losing streak at the BNP Paribas Open but fell just short, falling 0-6, 6-2, 7-5 to Jaqueline Cristian in the first round.

With the three withdrawals, Maria Sakkari and Cristian are now seeded. The other three spots in the main draw will go to qualifiers or lucky losers.

First-round action at the Miami Open kicks off on Tuesday, and qualifying will also wrap up following the rainout on Sunday.

The entire Top 10 of the PIF WTA Rankings is in this year’s field, including defending champion — and newly-minted Indian Wells champion — Aryna Sabalenka. The World No. 1 will play either American Ann Li or a qualifier in her opening match.