Emma Raducanu withdraws from Linz: Ongoing illness derails 2026 clay court start

It continues to not be a great time of it for Emma Raducanu who has had to withdraw from next week's Upper Austria Ladies Linz in Austria and won't play amid recent issues recovering from an illness she contracted in the Middle East.

Raducanu will no doubt be further frustrated after deciding to withdraw from Billie Jean King Cup action this week to fulfil a full clay court slate that she now won't due to further issues. She had to pull out of Miami after playing Indian Wells the week before, in which she eased past Anastasia Zakharova, but then was soundly beaten by her good friend off the court, Amanda Anisimova.

Not long after, Raducanu chose not to play in Miami, citing after effects of a virus she picked up all the way back in February. She was also sick around then when she managed to reach her first final since the US Open final in Cluj-Napoca, but sickness got the better of her when she played Sorana Cirstea, and she was well beaten in the end.

She battled through symptoms during the Middle East swing but she opted to play through them. However with the clay court season about to begin, it is more disappointment.

She has decided not to compete at Linz as she wants to get over her illness in full before she competes again, so no doubt is targeting the next WTA 1000 in a few weeks, the Madrid Open, with a run of Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros to come before the action shifts onto clay.

The only point of resolution for Raducanu ultimately is that, despite not liking clay on the outset, she knows she will always get wildcards and top billing on grass, so in reality, she has often decided to focus on that, and it throws up the question of whether she will soon do that in order to salvage her season.

What has been a good year in part has been blighted by this illness and also her recent coaching changes with Francisco Roig, ironically, likely if rumours are to be believed, going higher in the pyramid with his next role with Iga Swiatek after he was fired by Emma Raducanu.

She had worked with Mark Petchey again during Indian Wells, who had the Midas touch this time last year, but is not willing to give up his commitments to Tennis Channel, so while he is an ideal full-time appointment, it is not a risk that he wants to take, and it seems Raducanu doesn't want the risk of playing right now.

Raducanu’s decision to skip Linz is a double-edged sword. Tactically, entering the grueling European clay swing without 100% physical capacity is a recipe for the type of 'niggling' injuries that hampered her 2025 season. However, by bypassing the indoor clay in Austria, she misses a vital opportunity to build sliding mechanics and point-construction patience before the high-stakes environment of the Caja Mágica. With Francisco Roig out of the picture—a coach who specialized in the heavy-topspin 'Spanish style'—Raducanu finds herself in a tactical vacuum. The success of her 2026 season now hinges entirely on whether her body allows her to have a consistent training block before Roland Garros, or if she will once again arrive at a Grand Slam undercooked and over-pressured.