London | Raducanu signs up for the Eisenhower Cup

Emma Raducanu, who had to withdraw because of tonsillitis from this week’s ATX Open, the WTA 250 event in Austin, Texas, is now expected to return to action on 7 March, when she will team up with British No 1 Cameron Norrie for the mixed doubles at the Eisenhower Cup Presented By Masimo.

We are thrilled that The Eisenhower Cup will return for a fourth time to serve as a meaningful charitable event to ring in two weeks of exciting action in Tennis Paradise. Tennis fans will be treated to the brightest stars of both tours pairing up for a fun and unique mixed doubles event, and we extend our sincerest thank you to all players for their participation in supporting this great cause. Tommy Haas, Indian Wells Tournament Director

It will be Raducanu’s first taste of mixed doubles at a top event, while Norrie has previously represented Great Britain at the Hopman Cup and was also in action at the United Cup at the start of the year.

This will be first competitive appearance for 20-year old Raducanu since the Australian Open when the former US Open champion was beaten by No 6 Coco Gauff in the 2nd-round in straight sets while managing an ankle injury sustained in Auckland.

The inaugural mixed doubles event at the Eisenhower Cup promises to be a fun affair as World No 1 Iga Swiatek, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, World No 3 Ons Jabeur, former US Open champion Raducanu as well as Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz have all signed up.

The Eisenhower Cup itself will take place for a 4th time, but the one-off mixed doubles charitable event is a new addition, and it will take place on the eve of the main draw action of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open, which is also known as the Indian Wells Open, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“We are thrilled that The Eisenhower Cup will return for a fourth time to serve as a meaningful charitable event to ring in two weeks of exciting action in Tennis Paradise,” Tournament Director Tommy Haas said. “Tennis fans will be treated to the brightest stars of both tours pairing up for a fun and unique mixed doubles event, and we extend our sincerest thank you to all players for their participation in supporting this great cause.

World No 1 and Indian Wells defending champion Iga Swiatek is teaming up with fellow Pole Hubert Hurkacz for the Eisenhower Cup

The format sees no games or sets but matches decided by a single tiebreak with the first team to reach 10 points and lead by a margin of two going through.

The seven-match tournament completed in one night and will feature 8 teams in a single elimination draw, with the champions taking the $200,000 / £166,480 winner-takes-all first prize, but all proceeds raised during the event will go to local charitable organisations.

The past 3 events have raised in the region of $300,000 for charity with funds being raised through ticket sales.

The cost of a ticket for this year’s event is $50, which will also allow holder to enter the site earlier in the day to watch qualifying matches if they wish to.

The British partnership of Raducanu and Norrie will come up against some formidable opposition.

World No 1 and 3-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek, who is also the defending champion at Indian Wells, will team up with her fellow Pole Hubert Hurkacz. The pair also played together at the United Cup in January.

Men’s World No 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas & Maria Sakkari have also been regular partners for Greece at the United Cup and Hopman Cup, while World No 4 Jessica Pegula & Tommy Paul will be on duty for the United States, and Leylah Fernandez & Felix Auger-Aliassime will fly the flag for Canada.

The Eisenhower Cup is not a national competition, though, as Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka will play alongside American Taylor Fritz, while Tunisian World No 3 Ons Jabeur will compete with Norwegian World No 4 Casper Ruud.

After competing at the Eisenhower Cup, Raducanu will also compete at the WTA 1000 event in Indian Wells as a wild-card entry because she could not make the main draw cut with her current ranking of 81. The British No 1 is looking to re-build her ranking points over the coming weeks.

The main draw of the 2023 Indian Wells Open, which is the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the year and first mandatory WTA 1000 tournament on the calendar, will run from 8-19 March.

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