Emma Raducanu and Venus Williams headline initial Miami Open wildcard list
Emma Raducanu is set to return to the Miami Open, with the Brit receiving a wildcard for the second half of the sunshine double.
Raducanu spent eight months out of action last season, after undergoing surgeries to both wrists and her left ankle.
As a consequence, the 2021 US Open champion fell outside the top 300 and despite climbing 50 places still needs a wildcard to access the bigger tournaments.
The 21-year-old has never won a match at the WTA 1000 tournament before, having lost to Katerina Siniakova and Bianca Andreescu in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
It is currently unknown as to whether Raducanu will also play at Indian Wells, but she did hint that would be the case after posting an image on social media of her flying into California.
Wildcards for the Miami Open have also been awarded to a former champion in Venus Williams, who won the singles title in 1998, 1999 and 2001.
Williams is also set to compete at Indian Wells, with the 43-year-old looking to return to form and fitness as she looks set to play in Miami for the 22nd time of her career.
Other wildcards have been offered to former finalists in Kei Nishikori and Caroline Wozniacki, who finished as runners-up in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Wozniacki has been attempting a comeback in recent months after announcing her retirement in 2020 and having two children.
There has been some success for the Dane in this return, with the former No.1 reaching the fourth round of the US Open last year.
It has been a less successful for Nishikori, who has played only four tournaments in the last two years due to hip and knee injuries.
However, the 34-year-old Japanese star appears ready to give it another try at the tournament where he reached the final eight years ago.
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— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) February 29, 2024
The Miami Open begins on Tuesday 19th March, following the conclusion of the first half of the sunshine double at Indian Wells.
Inside the baseline…
It is an exciting first set of wildcards released by the Miami Open tournament, with Kei Nishikori perhaps the most surprising inclusion. Emma Raducanu, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki are perhaps more expected, as they all look for form for a variety of different reasons. Raducanu especially needs a good run at one of the tournaments in the sunshine double, as the tennis seems to be there, but she just has not been able to make a deep run since returning to the tour.
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