Clear sign Indian Wells wildcard is imminent for Emma Raducanu as Sunshine Double looms

While announced for the Miami Open which will take place as the second part of the so-called Sunshine Double, Emma Raducanu still remains in the dark in terms of whether she will play Indian Wells which begins on March 6.

Raducanu though seems to have hinted whether intentionally or not that she has received one of the final wildcards for the tournament. The Brit posted a photo on her Instagram story with Los Angeles, California tagged, a far cry from Miami, Florida where the second part of the double takes place and close to Indian Wells.

Posted on social media, Melanie Lautrup chimed that this likely confirms the suspicions that she has got the wildcard. Raducanu reached the Last 16 last year losing comfortably to Iga Swiatek in one of her final runs before injury saw her out for the rest of the 2023 season.

With Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams currently confirmed and other top names getting into the tournament through protected rankings including Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber, it makes sense that Raducanu would get one of the final spots given the marketability factor. Ranked low enough that she is unlikely to get into qualifying no mind the main draw, Raducanu will likely be announced in short order.

Commenters on social media chimed in that she should've played Austin or San Diego this week with many deciding to have a week off and with Raducanu not playing in Dubai either, she has not played since a humbling loss to Anhelina Kalinina in Doha. But with both fields being fairly weakened aside from Jessica Pegula in particular in San Diego, it could've represented an opportunity at a lower level she perhaps needs.

Instead Raducanu has spent recent weeks training at the National Tennis Centre back in London after admitting she is pondering her next move after Doha and with the wildcard situation not sorted, it has been a waiting game for the former US Open champion which seems to be all falling into place.