Madrid (Spain), Apr 26 (IANS): The British No. 1 tennis player Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Madrid Open due to a hand injury, hours before her first-round match on Wednesday.

Former US Open champion was scheduled to face World No. 73 Viktoriya Tomova in the first round, with a potential showdown with World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the second round.

"Emma Raducanu withdraws from the Mutua Madrid Open due to injury in her right hand," the tournament said in a statement.

She will be replaced by lucky loser, Julia Grabher of Austria in the draw.

Raducanu's withdrawal means she will probably be out of the world's top 100 for the first time since her US Open win in 2021.

The Brit has been battling a wrist problem over the last few months. After losing to Bianca Andreescu in the first round of the Miami Open, Raducanu has said that she will take the time to reassess her options regarding the wrist injury she has been nursing during the spring hard-court season.

"I just need to review after this tournament really and figure out what my next steps are. We have been managing it, keeping on top of it. I'm able to play in the short term. But the current solutions aren't very viable long term," she said after her first-round loss at the Miami Open, last month.

The 20-year-old Brit struggled with physical health in 2023. An ankle injury sustained in Auckland hampered her Australian Open preparation, and she was forced to withdraw from Austin in February due to tonsillitis.  

A wrist injury also beset her during the North American spring hard-court season, though she reached the fourth round of Indian Wells.