Emma Raducanu: British number one pulls out of Miami Open as she continues recovery from illness

Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from this week’s Miami Open as she continues to recover from a recent illness.

The England number one fell ill while playing in the Middle East last month and is still struggling with post-viral symptoms.

Raducanu decided to play last week’s event at Indian Wells and reached the third round, losing to world number six Amanda Anisimova in just 52 minutes.

The 23-year-old has 215 qualifying points to avoid reaching the quarter-finals in Miami last year but decided it was best to take a break to fully recover.

Raducanu lost to Jessica Pegula in three sets in last year’s quarterfinals after defeating both Anisimova and then-top 10 player Emma Navarro.

She had a bye in the first round this year and could face her British childhood rival Sonay Kartal in the second round.

Raducanu had decided not to play in Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup tie in Melbourne next month but is now scheduled to return to the tour in three weeks.

She participated in the WTA event in Linz, which would be the first clay court tournament of the season.