Alexandra Eala and Emma Raducanu lock in first WTA clay event this season

Both Alexandra Eala and Emma Raducanu are shifting their focus to the upcoming clay season following their respective exits from Indian Wells.

Eala was knocked out in the fourth round by Linda Noskova, but not before she picked up notable wins over Coco Gauff and Dayana Yastremska.

The Filipino player has been climbing steadily up the rankings, but there is added pressure now heading into Miami after her surprise run to the semi-finals last year.

Raducanu’s campaign did not go as well, falling early to Amanda Anisimova in a one-sided match. She will be hoping to reset quickly with Miami and her first clay event of the year coming up soon.

Alexandra Eala and Emma Raducanu set to start clay season at Linz Open

Eala and Raducanu have both signed up for April’s Linz Open.

The tournament, which used to be played on hard courts, has moved to indoor clay for 2026.

Raducanu comes in as the fourth seed, while Eala is seeded seventh. The top seeds include Ekaterina Alexandrova, Clara Tauson and Liudmila Samsonova.

This will be Eala’s first appearance in Linz, while Raducanu last played there in 2021. That was right after her US Open win, but she went out early in what was then a hard court event.

The field also features former world number one Karolina Pliskova and Grand Slam champions Marketa Vondrousova and Barbora Krejcikova. All three have been dealing with injuries lately.

The Upper Austria Linz Open begins on Monday, 6 April

Comparing Alexandra Eala and Emma Raducanu’s clay court experience

Neither Eala nor Raducanu has extensive experience on clay at the WTA Tour level, with both players still building their resumes on the surface.

Raducanu holds a winning record on clay and made a notable run to the fourth round of the Italian Open last year. She has also reached the second round in both of her previous French Open appearances.

Eala, meanwhile, is yet to find similar success on clay. She has won just three of her 10 matches on the surface at Tour level and has not progressed past the second round in any clay event so far.

She did make her main draw debut at Roland Garros last year but lost in the opening round to Emiliana Arango.

Before turning their attention fully to clay, both players will first focus on defending ranking points at the Miami Open – Eala from a semi-final run last year, and Raducanu from reaching the quarter-finals.

The main draw for Miami begins Tuesday, 17 March. As seeded players, neither Eala nor Raducanu will play until Thursday, 19 March at the earliest.

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