As it turns out, all members of the “Big 3” are not going to compete in the 2023 Madrid Open because Novak Djokovic has also pulled out, and his withdrawal means that defending champion Carlos Alcaraz leads the field as the top seed in the tournament.
Ons Jabeur, the reigning titlist from the WTA, also declared that she won’t be able to defend her crown in Madrid as she looks to get back in tip-top shape ahead of the much-awaited Roland Garros.
Emma Raducanu, meanwhile, will look to regain her bearings because of her precipitous decline in the updated WTA rankings, and she’s showing signs of strain given her unfavourable draw.
SBOTOP is here to recap the latest Madrid Open 2023 news ahead of the tournament.
Jabeur unfit to defend her title
Ons Jabeur is out of the Madrid Open after sustaining a calf tear, although it’s not expected to be that serious. The Tunisian international broke this news on social media after retiring from her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix semi-final match against Iga Swiatek, the eventual winner.
“Further to many medical exams done, it shows that I have a small tear in my calf and I will need more time to recover,” wrote Jabeur.
“I’m sad to announce that I won’t be able to compete and defend my title this year in Madrid. I would like to wish to everyone and the tournament a great event and looking forward to coming back next year,” she added.
Jabeur has dealt with injuries this year, which have clearly affected her performances. After a second-round exit at the Australian Open, she missed both the Qatar Open and the Dubai Tennis Championships.
She did compete at Indian Wells, but she was eliminated in the Round of 32 and then lost in the first round of the Miami Open. The only bright spot for her so far was when she won the Charleston Open earlier this month.
With Jabeur sidelined, the Madrid Open 2023 odds have Iga Swiatek as the favourite to win, but the world No. 1 is “not getting expectations up” ahead of the competition, especially after sitting out last year due to injury.
This will be the second time that Swiatek competes in the Madrid Open, having lost in the third round to Ashleigh Barty back in 2021.
Djokovic dealing with niggling injury
Novak Djokovic revealed that he had to pull out because his nagging elbow injury hadn’t healed according to plan.
Djokovic’s pulling out marks the first time that none of the “Big 3” has played in the tournament since 2002, which was the inaugural competition of the Madrid Open. Because of the injuries to both Djokovic and Nadal, there’s a growing possibility that the two of them might miss the Roland Garros as well.
The Serbian international is hoping for a similar outcome in 2021, when he also didn’t compete in Madrid but went on to win the Roland Garros. Djokovic is probably looking ahead to defending his Italian Open crown to prepare for France.
The good news for Djokovic is that his withdrawal from Madrid won’t affect his No. 1 ranking in the ATP, no matter how well Carlos Alcaraz does.
Djokovic now has 6,775 points for not competing in Madrid, but Alcaraz will remain at 6,770 points even if he successfully defends his title. However, Alcaraz can pass Djokovic for the top spot if he wins the Italian Open after playing at least one match in Madrid.
Alcaraz and Djokovic lead the pack as of now, but in reality, they’re in a six-way battle for the top spot with the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Andrey Rublev all right behind them.
Raducanu gets flak from the media
During the pre-tournament press conference in Madrid, Emma Raducanu stonewalled the media by only saying 58 total words for the 16 questions that were posed to her in what was an awkward situation.
Emma Raducanu is understandably frustrated after being given a tough Madrid Open draw, which may lead to her dropping more ranking points. She will take on a qualifier in the opening round, but after that, she will play against Iga Swiatek, whom she hasn’t beaten in two straight meetings.She is currently 85th in the WTA rankings, which is a far cry from her Top 10 place last year. Raducanu is fresh from a Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Round of 32 defeat against Jelena Ostapenko, her third straight loss since reaching the fourth round at Indian Wells.
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