With the French Open just a few weeks away, Emma Raducanu will hope she has finally cleared the virus tormenting her. The bug was reasonable for her late withdrawal from the Italian Open as well. However, Emma Raducanu has announced her next event for the 2026 season, hoping the streak of withdrawals during the clay swing will come to an end.

The former World No. 10 entered the draw for the Internationaux de Strasbourg, as reported on the tournament’s official social media account.

Raducanu last played on the Tour during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, losing to Amanda Anisimova in straight sets in the third round. Since then, the former Major champion has been off the court, recovering from a post-viral illness. It looked like she was all ready to enter the field in Rome as she attended the pre-tournament press conference.

Minutes later, Raducanu withdrew from the Italian Open, much to the surprise of pundits and fans. That is why the news from Strasbourg comes as a relief to all her fans, signaling that she is fit to return to the Tour. The tournament gave a warm welcome to the British player on its official Instagram page.

This will be Raducanu’s second time in action at Strasbourg, having played there last year. She made a winning start with a straight-set victory against Daria Kasatkina in the first round. But she could not progress much further, losing to Danielle Collins in a three-set contest.

During her press conference in Rome, Raducanu candidly admitted that she was not at her full physical capacity and was gradually building her workload as the season progressed. After her surprise withdrawal, former ATP Pro Greg Rusedski gave his opinion on the situation leading up to it.

“The Virus Reappears”- Former ATP Pro Talks About Emma Raducanu’s Condition in the Lead-Up to the Rome Withdrawal

Talking about Emma Raducanu, former ATP pro Greg Rusedski said the Brit looked fine on court and was getting her shots in properly during practice, fueling media speculation that she was definitely making her comeback in Rome. However, the entire thing got shelved as the virus she was recovering from resurfaced again, halting her progress.

“She’s hitting the ball well, she’s taking it early, she had like two practice sessions most days, and then all of a sudden, you know, everybody in the media is thinking, okay great, she’s gonna restart up.  They’ve put all the press out there saying she’s playing in Rome, and then boom, all of a sudden she’s not playing. The virus reappears.” Rusedski said

Rusedski was aware that the British player had been out of action on court for a long time since her stint at Indian Wells, and that she needed to play some matches before she made any deep runs at the bigger events.

“I don’t know whether she’s got to get her nutrition up, whether she’s gotta get a diet up, whether she’s got to find some sort of solution because it’s been a long, long time since she’s played a match….The last match she’s played was in Indian Wells, and I mean, it feels like an eternity ago, and I hope she finds some way to get back. She needs matches.” Rusedski added

Rusedski even opined that Raducanu could skip the clay season or use it just as a practice stint before going full tilt during the grass-court season. But Raducanu being ready to take the court in Strasbourg shows she is ready to restart her season on clay.

Overall, the 2021 US Open champion has a 7-7 win-loss record this season, with her best outing being a runner-up finish at the Transylvania Open, which was only her second career final after the run she had in New York almost five years ago.