Emma Raducanu withdraws from Italian Open in another setback for British number one

Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Italian Open in another setback for the British number one, pulling out due to a post-viral illness.

Raducanu was due to face Solana Sierra or a qualifier in the second round of the Italian Open for her first tournament since March.

The British number one has not competed since Indian Wells, having been absent with a viral illness and an injury to her right hand.

Raducanu had been practising in Rome for the past few days and completed her media obligations before deciding with her team to withdraw.

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Should she have progressed against either Solana or a qualifier, Raducanu could have set up a tie against Coco Gauff in the third round.

Aryna Sabalenka was also in the same half of the draw as the British number one.

Raducanu enjoyed her best run at the tournament last year, making the fourth round before Gauff knocked her out.

The 23-year-old spent some time training last week in Spain with Andrew Richardson, who helped her lift the US Open title as a qualifier almost five years ago.

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There is no indication for Richardson to have a role on Raducanu's team going forward.

The 23-year-old is currently working under the guidance of childhood coach Jane O'Donoghue in Rome.

She had previously opted to sit out Great Britain's Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Australia.

Her last contest in the third round at Indian Wells on March 8 saw her lose 6-1, 6-1 to Amanda Anisimova.

Speaking afterwards, she admitted to feeling a lack of power, which impacted her performance.

Raducanu said: "I need to obviously be aggressive when playing those players, but I think there's still a long way to go to be doing that, and I need to use my strengths and probably mix it up a bit more."

She has largely been working with hitting partner Alexis Canter since her split from previous coach Francisco Roig in January.

Katie Boulter is scheduled to be in action tomorrow at the Italian Open, taking on Eva Lys.

She will be hoping to continue her promising start to the clay-court season, having reached the quarter-finals in Rouen and picked up a victory at the Madrid Open.

The women's draw got underway today, with the men's side set to start on May 6.

The event will run until finals weekend on May 16 and 17.

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