Emma
Raducanu has outlined her upcoming tournaments following her first-round exit
from the Madrid Open, and she will be competing in the WTA 500
Internationaux de Strasbourg before the
French Open. The British player will not be participating in the
Rome Open, scheduled for May 7th, but will instead be in Strasbourg from May
18th to 25th.
Subsequently,
Roland Garros begins on May 26th, although Raducanu does not have guaranteed
entry into the main draw despite her protected ranking of No. 103. However, she
is currently 5th on the alternate list and could hope for last-minute injuries
or withdrawals to secure a spot in the main draw.
Commentator
and former tennis player Colin Fleming recently remarked that Raducanu needs to
carefully manage her schedule, considering her promising performance and with
the grass season approaching: “Emma and her team need to have an open
conversation [about next plans]. It's been a largely positive start to the
season," Colin Fleming said.
“How do you schedule the next few weeks to
make sure you do better? Is it to skip Rome and go for Roland Garros
qualifying? Is it to skip the rest of the clay season and be ready for the
grass?” he said. "She
doesn't want to play and put in more performances like that, because then it
becomes a bit of a habit. She needs to wipe the slate clean and make better
decisions.
"I'd
love to see her go to Roland Garros and play, even if it's qualifying. It would
be three weeks from now without Rome, and if she's fit and healthy, of course
she can qualify. Once you're in the main draw, who knows what can happen."
On the
other hand, Anne Keothavong expressed her concerns about Raducanu spending too
many weeks without playing, although she mentioned that the 2021 US Open
champion feels more confident as she spends more time training: "She has
said and proven she gets confidence from the hours she puts in on the practice
court."
Raducanu (No. 221) lost at first round of Madrid Open against Maria Lourdes Carle (No. 82) by 2-6, 2-6
"With
Rome, I don't know what the wildcard situation is there, but maybe in
hindsight, it would have been better to take this week off. Should she have
used the wildcard in Madrid?" Keothavong said. "It's a number of
weeks between now and the first grass-court event. That's a long training block
and she's already had eight months off on the sidelines.
Raducanu
kicked off the clay swing by leading Great Britain to victory over France in
the
Billie Jean King Cup series. The former world No. 10 defeated Caroline
Garcia and
Diane Parry, playing a crucial role in the British triumph.
Additionally, she secured a couple of impressive victories at the Porsche
Tennis Grand Prix against local favorite
Angelique Kerber and teenage sensation
Linda Noskova before falling to
Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.