Raducanu Withdraws from French Open Qualifying to Prepare for Grass and Hard-Court Seasons
In a strategic move, promising British tennis player Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the qualifying rounds of the French Open to instead focus on training and preparation for the upcoming grass and hard-court seasons.
Raducanu, who famously won the U.S. Open in 2021, had been expected to compete in the clay-court tournament at Roland Garros, using her protected ranking of 103 to try and fight her way through the qualifying rounds. However, the 21-year-old has decided to forgo the clay-court event, stating, “It’s important for me to keep laying on the foundations and I will use the time to do a healthy block before the grass and subsequent hard-court seasons to give myself a chance to keep fit for the rest of the year.”
Raducanu had made a strong start to the clay-court season, leading Britain to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals and reaching the quarterfinals of the WTA event in Stuttgart, where she pushed world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. But a lackluster performance against Argentine qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle in the opening round of the Madrid Open last month, citing exhaustion, seems to have prompted this decision.
“It’s important for me to keep laying on the foundations and I will use the time to do a healthy block before the grass and subsequent hard-court seasons to give myself a chance to keep fit for the rest of the year.”
The British tennis star has not played a match since, having also withdrawn from this week’s WTA event in Strasbourg. This latest withdrawal from the French Open qualifying rounds comes as a surprise to many, but Raducanu is prioritizing her long-term fitness and preparation for the grass and hard-court seasons, where she hopes to build on her previous success.
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