Miami Open grants wild cards to former U.S. Open champions Thiem, Raducanu

The Miami Open field just got more interesting.

Dominic Thiem and Emma Raducanu, the 2020 and 2021 US Open champions, were granted wild cards into the tournament, which runs Mar. 19 through April 2 at Hard Rock Stadium.

Raducanu was named WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2021 after she became the first player to win a major title as a qualifier, doing so without dropping a set in her 10 matches at the US Open. Just 18 years old at the time, she was the youngest woman to win a Grand Slam event since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004.

Thiem, the Austrian with the killer one-handed backhand, won the 2020 US Open champion and has made three other major finals (Australian Open 2020, French Open in 2019 and 2020). Thiem had been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world before a wrist injury sidelined him.

“Radacanu is such an incredible story what she did at the US Open, taking the world by storm like we hadn’t seen since Maria Sharapova winning Wimbledon at such a young age and becoming a media phenomenon,” said Miami Open tournament director James Blake.

“It’s been a bit of a struggle since then, but realistically for her age, she’s getting better, and just happened to have one of her greatest performances at one of the biggest events on the calendar . She’s continuing to make progress. We’re happy she’ll be in Miami. With the success she’s had on hard courts, hopefully she’ll feel comfortable here.”

Blake said he is delighted to add Thiem to the field, as well.

“He’s a guy that was talked about the second favorite after Rafa (Nadal) on clay, but he ran into Rafa and he’s the greatest clay court player of all time,” Blake said. “He’s not a huge guy in stature, but his game is big. Big serve, big forehand and one of the most beautiful backhands in the game. If it were not for Rafa, Dominic would have added a few French Open titles to his resume.”

The Miami Open field includes world No. 2 and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 4 Casper Ruud, No. 5 Taylor Fritz, and No. 6 Andrey Rublev.

Tournament officials have petitioned the U.S. government to allow top-ranked Novak Djokovic to receive an exemption from the current COVID travel restrictions so that he can play.

U.S. COVID travel laws do not allow unvaccinated non-U.S. citizens to enter the country. That rule is expected to be expire on May 11, the day the Biden Administration is scheduled to lift COVID Emergency Declarations.

Djokovic is not vaccinated.

“The rules officially change May 11, so we have petitioned for an exemption based on the fact that there doesn’t seem to be any imminent danger with him playing,” Blake said. “They are setting it for May 11 and we’re on a timeline. We can’t have the Miami Open after May 11. It’s at the time it is and we’d love to have our greatest champion there.

“We’ve highlighted the fact that it would be good for the economy, for the Miami community, and for tennis fans all over the world who want to see the greatest player in our game play right now.”

On the women’s side, top-ranked Iga Swiatek will be back to defend her 2022 title. Other previous winners in the field include Sloane Stephens (2018) and Victoria Azarenka (2016, 2011, 2009).

Tickets are on sale at www.MiamiOpen.com and start at $18. Single-session tickets and full-tournament passes are available.