Big gamble: Emma Raducanu set to play in doubles at Queen's Club Championship

Emma Raducanu has made a surprising decision ahead of the first-ever edition of the Queen’s Club Championship. The tournament, which is over 100 years old, for the first time, will feature women’s tennis this year.

Britain’s number two player, Raducanu, has made a surprising call, stating that she will feature in both singles and doubles categories. Her singles opponent is yet to be confirmed, but in the doubles, she will partner fellow countrywoman Katie Boulter. It will be the first occasion since 2022 when Raducanu will play in the doubles category of any event. They will face the pair of Wu Fang-Hsien and Jiang Xinyu in the round of 16. Her partner, Boulter, is also taking part in the singles category.

This year, Raducanu has featured in 22 matches and managed to win 12 of them, suffering defeats in the other 10, as per ESPN. Her most recent outing was at the French Open, where she was knocked out after losing to then-defending champion Iga Swiatek in the round of 64 in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-2.

Talking after the match, Raducanu admitted that there is a big gap between her and the top players in women’s tennis, which was evident from her outing against Swiatek.

“I think Iga played really well today. I think every time we have played she plays really well,” she said. “It kind of puts really a lot of pressure on from the beginning, makes me feel like I have to maybe do something extra or I just don’t know what to do in the moment. I think it does shift the dynamics of the match a bit, and then it’s very difficult to kind of stay with her as she grows in confidence. But it just shows, I guess, the distance that I have to improve.”