Emma Raducanu had her first injury setback of her return to tennis as she had to withdraw from the
Miami Open (begins on March 19) with a lower back injury, it was reported late on Monday evening. But fans were less so receptive to her being injured.
Raducanu was set to face off against Wang Xiyu in the Round of 128 on Tuesday on a session that also includes Simona Halep v Paula Badosa, Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams. But the former US Open champion withdrew and also marks just under a year before season ending surgery on her wrist and ankles. So far this year, the 21-year-old has played five tournaments and has shown glimmers but not had a deep run yet.
"Unfortunately this is not news at this stage of her career. The news would be her not withdrawing from the tournament," one Reddit user wrote.
"Ok so we've had a new injury, but how long until the new coach announcement?," another wrote.
She also received comparisons to other players namely Bianca Andreescu and Laura Robson. Andreescu similarly won the US Open at a young age, but wasn't exactly unheralded with the 23-year-old Canadian who is currently out injured dominating the tour that season. Robson never had Grand Slam success, but as a Brit who was dogged in her career by injuries, the comparison point can be made as she certainly had potential, but it wasn't fully achieved.