Emma Raducanu withdraws from Madrid Open with hand injury

Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu withdrew from the Madrid Open shortly before she was due on court to play Viktoriya Tomova in the first round Wednesday.

The 20-year-old British player cited an injury to her right hand as the motive for her withdrawal.

It is the latest setback for Raducanu, who has struggled for form and fitness since her fairy-tale run to the title at Flushing Meadows in 2021 as an 18-year-old qualifier.

She lost in the first round in Miami and Stuttgart, and by missing Madrid, she will likely fall outside the top 100 in the WTA rankings for the first time since her stunning breakthrough.

Raducanu was replaced in the draw by Julia Grabher, who defeated Tomova 6-1, 7-6 (5).

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In other first-round play Wednesday, 15-year-old Mirra Andreeva upset former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 6-4 as the Russian teenager posted her first tour-level victory three days before her 16th birthday.

It was the first time Andreeva played a top-50 adversary, though she had already earned impressive results this year.

Her first main-draw victory extended her undefeated pro record in 2023 to 14-0, and she was coming off two consecutive ITF W60 titles.

Andreeva’s second-round adversary will be 13th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil.

Another teenager won in the first round Tuesday when 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic beat Katie Volynets 6-3, 7-5 to set up a match against 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The 58th-ranked Fruhvirtova is the youngest player inside the top 100. She will turn 18 on Monday.

Elina Svitolina, a former No. 3 playing in her first match at a WTA 1000 event in 14 months following maternity leave, lost 6-4, 7-5 to Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Wednesday. Amanda Anisimova of the United States lost 7-5, 6-2 to Arantxa Rus, while Caty McNally defeated Dalma Galfi 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.

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