(Tennis news) British number 1 Emma Raducanu will drop out of the Madrid Open due to a right-hand injury. The 20 year old was set to face Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova on Wednesday and her withdrawal will almost certainly drop her out of the world’s top 100. The 2021 US Open champion has been suffering from a wrist problem in recent months and Raducanu hasn’t featured since her defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. 

Meanwhile, defending champion Ons Jabeur has also withdrawn from the Madrid Open due to a calf injury. The Tunisian was forced to retire three games into the Porsche Tennis Open semi-final against Iga Swiatek in Stuttgart. On an Instagram post, Jabeur said “Further to many medical exams done, it shows that I have a small tear in my calf and I will need more time to recover. I’m sad to announce that I won’t be able to compete and defend my title this year at the Madrid Open. I would like to wish everyone and the tournament a great event.” 

Jabeur defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5 0-6 6-2 in the 2022 Madrid Open final to become the first African to win a WTA 1000 event and was due to play either Romania’s Ana Bogdan or Hungary’s Anna Bondar in the second round at this year’s event. Former world number 1 Karolina Pliskova has also announced her withdrawal from the Madrid Open due to a knee injury but is hoping to recover in time for the Italian Open in Rome from May 9th to 20th.

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