Emma Raducanu was hoping to take centre stage at this week’s Miami Open, but she has served up a social media hit of a different variety to her millions of followers.
The 21-year-old, who was given a wild card for the prestigious WTA tournament, was set to play China’s Wang Xiyu in the first round on Tuesday.
However, pain in her lower back caused Raducanu to pull out, with the 2021 US Open champion unwilling to take any risks as she edges her way back to full fitness.
It is another blow for Raducanu, ranked down at 288, in her attempts to establish herself as a consistent presence on the WTA Tour.
The former US Open champion was sidelined from May until the end of last season after undergoing surgery on both wrists and one ankle, the latest in a long line of injury problems since winning at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
Despite her limited time on a tennis court, Raducanu has proved once again that she is a major draw on social media after she released a short video clip displaying her piano skills.
Some cynical observers commented on the presence of a water bottle from one of her sponsors in the video and suggested this was a ‘sponsored’ post, yet the majority of comments were positive towards the young Brit.
Raducanu is expected to return to action next month when she plays for Great Britain in their Bille Jean King Cup match against France and she is due to play in a WTA 500 event in Stuttgart a week later.
In the opinion of tennis icon Martina Navratilova, Raducanu is still trying to recover from the shock of her US Open win as well as her injuries, as the nine-time Wimbledon champion suggested the player who has slipped to No 288 in the rankings is still finding her feet.
“It was amazing when she won but it’s become a handicap because the expectations have gone sky-high,” Navratilova told Sky Sports Tennis.
“It wasn’t a fluke because Emma has got that level. It wasn’t just she played great tennis and then all of a sudden she can’t play, but the pressure that’s been on her since then – particularly being a Brit – you can’t get away from it.
“It’s a big burden to carry, but hopefully she’ll get back to it and most of all she needs to get healthy and stay healthy – and, that way, you can build on that.
“It’s hard to build any confidence and momentum from winning because you don’t stay healthy enough to win. It’s a nasty Catch 22 where you can win with confidence but you can’t have confidence without winning.
“Hopefully she’ll get healthy and stay healthy so we’ll see her talent again.”
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