WTA Miami: Raducanu pulls out, draw already shaken before first serve

Barely under way… and already rattled. The WTA 1000 in Miami hasn’t even properly begun and the draw is already shifting.

Raducanu out — Miami loses a big draw

Emma Raducanu pulling out makes headlines. A quarter-finalist last year, the Brit won’t be heading to Florida.

Still feeling the after-effects of an illness picked up in February on her Middle East swing, she’s been told to rest. Result: enforced downtime… and a gap in the bottom half of the draw.

In a tournament where she had started to find her feet, the timing couldn’t be worse.

A string of withdrawals reshuffles the deck

And Raducanu isn’t the only one. Two more players have pulled out.

Sonay Kartal, who’d been moving up lately, has to bow out with a low-back injury picked up at Indian Wells. Same story for Maya Joint, halted by a physical problem of her own.

Three withdrawals, and the immediate effect is clear: openings for others.

Sakkari and Cristian cash in on the chaos

In this game of musical chairs, some players win without swinging a racquet.

Maria Sakkari and Jacqueline Cristian move into seeded spots. That buys them a softer first round, a friendlier path on paper… and a genuine shot to go deeper.

3 Main Draw withdrawals at the WTA Miami 1000.

Emma Raducanu – Illness
Maya Joint – Low Back Injury
Sonay Kartal – Low Back Injury

3 Lucky loser spots.

Top seeds in Qualifying:

1. Birrell

2. Golubic

3. Seidel

4. Zakharova

5. Rakhimova

— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) March 16, 2026

Tournament already looks unpredictable

This is the beauty and the mess of tennis.

Before a ball’s even been hit, Miami already appears more open than anyone expected. Withdrawals, injuries, shocks on the way… and chances for whoever seizes them.

At this level, one pull-out can flip the whole tournament narrative.

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