Emma Raducanu is set to make her long-awaited return to the court at the Rome Masters after a viral illness sidelined her since the Indian Wells Open. The British No. 1, now ranked No. 30, has drawn a challenging path featuring top players like Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Her second-round matchup will be against either a qualifier or Maria Sakkari.
Raducanu has been out of action since the Indian Wells Open due to a viral illness contracted during the Middle-East swing in February. This delay pushed back her clay-court season, but she enters the Italian Open with a first-round bye thanks to her ranking. Potential opponents include: Alexandra Eala, Magdalena Frech or Xinyu Wang in the third round; Marta Kostyuk (recent Madrid Open champion), Karolina Pliskova or Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Round of 16; Hailey Baptiste, Madison Keys, Elina Svitolina or Victoria Mboko in the quarterfinals; Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Naomi Osaka or Karolina Muchova in the semifinals; and a potential final versus Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Amanda Anisimova or Belinda Bencic.
Raducanu reached the final of the Transylvania Open in February but lost 6-0, 6-2 to Sorana Cirstea, contributing to her 7-7 win-loss record this season. She has never advanced past the fourth round at Rome and enters without recent clay match practice. Former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski offered encouragement after observing her practice: “Emma looked like she’s striking it well, so fingers crossed this is the start of getting her momentum back... Hopefully she’s healthy, can push through and get some wins this week,” he said on his podcast, ‘Off Court With Greg Rusedski’.
