Emma Raducanu eyeing return to tennis at Strasbourg Open, but may be denied entry with wildcard not yet confirmed

Emma Raducanu will be heavily reliant on the Internationaux de Strasbourg if she is going to have any preparation for Roland Garros after a long hiatus out from the sport. Now no longer a seed, her chances of competing in the WTA 250 event are uncertain with her missing the deadline and not yet received a wildcard.

It has been a troubling period for the 2021 US Open champion. A virus picked up in the Middle East came at a dreadful time. It was also not her only setback this year. She finished 2025 with injury problems, ending her Asian swing earlier than she would have hoped for.

These would not recover fully in time as he United Cup debut was postponed and interrupted slightly. She experienced a damaging defeat in the second round of the Australian Open to the hands of Anastasia Potapova before reaching a first WTA final since that US Open triumph. A lacklustre performance against Sorana Cirstea indicated the wait for another WTA title will go on for the British number one.

Illness then struck, and the effects would linger for some time. She retired her opening match of the Qatar Open before falling short against lucky loser Antonia Ruzic at the same stage. Her last match was against two-time Grand Slam finalist Amanda Anisimova, who dropped just two games enroute to thrashing Raducanu in emphatic fashion at Indian Wells.

She has not emerged on the court since. The tournaments in Miami, Linz and Madrid were all skipped in hoping that she would be back to full health and fitness. Rome seemed like her next destination, training with Eva Lys and even doing media duties, stating she was feeling good and that her return to the court was imminent. This was most certainly not the case. Moments after, the news broke that she would pull out of the sixth WTA 1000 tournament of the year, a big blow. Still with no matches played on clay this year, Roland Garros is becoming a daunting prospect.

The tournament, which starts on 17 May, has not yet confirmed whether a wildcard will be offered to Raducanu. The 23-year-old got one last year as she defeated former top 10 player Daria Kasatkina before falling to the hand of Danielle Collins in three sets.

She has to rely on a wildcard due to her missing the deadline. There have been similar incidents this year of something like this occurring. Mirra Andreeva became the number one seed at the Upper Ladies Austria Linz after a gap opened up. She applied and received a wildcard before going onto win the tournament.

A possible good omen for Raducanu who needs some competition on clay ahead of Roland Garros if she is going to make a dent in the tournament.

Now back with her old coach, Andrew Richardson, after parting ways with Francisco Roig earlier this year, the Brit needs to find some momentum on court. Last year was steady amid the odd deep run but was enough to put her back in the top 32, even creeping towards the top 20. However, she is now falling down the pecking order once more.

Her status as a seed in Paris is no longer reality. She could be drawn against a top seed in the opening round, something that has halted her progress in recent slams. Last year alone, she lost to Iga Swiatek in Melbourne and Paris, Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon and Elena Rybakina in New York. That bad luck in terms of draw could continue at a tournament she has not played that much at. Just two prior appearances at Roland Garros, heavily due to injuries. Both times she made it through to the second round, but no further. The second major tournament in 2026 will take place form May 24-June 7, with Raducanu looking to get back to her best.