Emma Raducanu is nearing a return to tennis after a break of over two months.
Raducanu withdrew from the Italian Open having not fully recovered from a post-viral infection, while she missed the Miami Open earlier this season with illness.
Former US Open champion Raducanu withdrew from the Linz Open too, continuing her lengthy absence from the WTA Tour.
But the Briton is now closing in on a comeback to tennis later this month, with Raducanu having last played at Indian Wells in early March.
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Emma Raducanu confirmed for WTA 500 Strasbourg
Raducanu has just received a wildcard for the WTA 500 Strasbourg, with the clay-court tournament scheduled for May 17-23.
It will mark her first appearance in more than two months, with the 23-year-old having slipped to 30th in the WTA rankings during her absence.
She has played a total of 14 matches in the 2026 WTA season so far, claiming seven wins and suffering seven losses.
The Strasbourg event arrives immediately after the Italian Open in the schedule, and just before Roland Garros.
Americans Madison Keys, Hailey Baptiste, Emma Navarro and Iva Jovic are also confirmed for the tournament, along with Ekaterina Alexandrova, Leylah Fernandez and Maya Joint among others.
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Can Emma Raducanu get back to her best this season?
It has certainly been another frustrating season for Raducanu, who has been unable to find any momentum given her fitness issues.
And unfortunately that has been a common theme for the Briton throughout her career, which has included one WTA title and a rise to the top 10.
| Top rank by year | Year-end ranking | |
| 23 | 2026 | |
| 29 | 2025 | 29 |
| 54 | 2024 | 58 |
| 68 | 2023 | 285 |
| 10 | 2022 | 75 |
| 19 | 2021 | 19 |
| 333 | 2020 | 343 |
| 371 | 2019 | 503 |
| 572 | 2018 | 692 |
Extraordinarily, Raducanu claimed her only career title at the US Open, defeating Fernandez in the 2021 final.
Hope remains that she can find her feet once again this season, starting in Strasbourg, with the 23-year-old clearly eager to fine-tune her game for Roland Garros.
But she has a forgettable record at the clay-court Grand Slam, having fallen in the second round in her only two appearances in 2022 and 2025.
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