Madrid, Spain

Emma Raducanu to fall out of Top 100 for first time since 2021 US Open after Madrid withdrawal

Leylah Fernandez could also drop outside the Top 50 after losing to 15-year-old Mirra Andreeva on Wednesday.



MATCH POINT: J. Ostapenko def. E. Raducanu; Stuttgart 1R0:41

Emma Raducanu is projected to drop out of the Top 100 on the WTA rankings for the first time since winning the 2021 US Open as a No. 150-ranked qualifier after pulling out of the Mutua Madrid Open.

The current world No. 85 withdrew from the WTA 1000 event a few hours before her scheduled first-round match Wednesday, with a right-hand injury cited as the reason. Last month Raducanu stated that her right wrist is, “something I've been managing for some time. I just need to review after this tournament really and figure out what my next steps are,” after falling to Bianca Andreescu in the opening round of Miami.

The wrist problem first arose in 2022 when the British No. 1 was forced to cut her WTA season short, later missing the opportunity to compete on home soil for her nation at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

STUTTGART, GERMANY - APRIL 16: Emma Raducanu of Great Britain during practice ahead of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart 2023 at Porsche Arena on April 16, 2023 in Stuttgart, Germany (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)
© 2023 Robert Prange

Raducanu has appeared in five events this season, going 5-5. The 20-year-old's strongest showing is a fourth-round effort at Indian Wells that included a pair of Top 25 victories. Julia Grabher replaced the former world No. 10 in the Madrid draw to play fellow lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova.

The woman Raducanu toppled to win her maiden major, Leylah Fernandez, is in danger of slipping outside the Top 50 following an opening-round defeat. The left-hander was ousted at the Caja Magica by Mirra Andreeva, a rising 15-year-old wild card entrant ranked No. 194.

Andreeva advanced to face No. 13 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia with a 6-3, 6-4 victory, erasing five of the six break points she faced in securing her first tour-level win. The Russian arrived with back-to-back ITF $60k titles in Switzerland.

Fernandez, who reached last year’s Roland Garros quarterfinals, started the tournament as the world No. 49. The Montreal native, like Raducanu, will see third-round points from her 2022 Madrid result come off the next time the rankings are published.