Emma Raducanu Withdraws From Italian Open Less Than 30 Minutes After Interviews

emma raducanu withdrew from the Italian Open less than 30 minutes after finishing her pre-tournament media duties in Rome, despite telling reporters she had turned a corner physically. The British No 1’s exit extends her absence from competition to more than two months and removes her from a seeded second-round path she had earned in Rome.

Raducanu’s Rome turnaround

Raducanu had sounded upbeat on Tuesday evening at the Foro Italico. “Last two months, in the beginning, it was quite difficult,” she said, adding, “Wasn’t feeling the best physically.” She also said the issue had “been lingering for a while,” before adding that over the last three weeks she had “really turned a corner and I feel so much better.”

She went further on her on-court condition. “I feel great on the court,” she said, and added, “I feel like every day I’m working towards something.” That was the public face of her return, after spending the last few days training at the venue and playing practice sets with other competitors.

Foro Italico withdrawal

The withdrawal came at 7pm local time, after she had completed the mandatory pre-tournament media obligation required of players on site at WTA and ATP events. Had she skipped that appearance, she would have faced a $15,000 fine. Instead, she spoke, left the room, and was off the draw before the evening was over.

Her place in the tournament had already been lined up as a seeded player with a bye into the second round. She had been scheduled to face Solana Sierra or a qualifier, which made the timing sharper: the Rome draw had been set for her return, and then the return was gone before she reached the court.

Post-viral setback

The withdrawal keeps a difficult stretch running from February, when she began struggling with a virus during the Middle East swing. Her symptoms had not abated by early March, and after a poor showing at Indian Wells in March — a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Amanda Anisimova in the third round — she opted to spend an extended period on the sidelines.

That layoff has now stretched past two months. Raducanu had already started the season with a foot injury before the illness, and later said the strain could be “Potentially [draining mentally],” while also saying, “When you have things going on, every day you’re working at it, it’s something you have in your head, but now in terms of body, injuries-wise, I feel very good.” Her Rome withdrawal leaves the immediate question in simpler terms: she is back out of competition again before she has had a chance to turn the promise of training into a match.