Raducanu and Wozniacki receive wildcards for grass swing tournaments

Emma Raducanu has confirmed her second wild card for the grass swing at the WTA 500 Eastbourne International. A few days earlier, the former US Open champion will play her first grass-court tournament in two years at the WTA 250 Nottingham Open, where she also received a wild card.

The British player had hoped to compete in the French Open, but her protected ranking left her as the third alternate, requiring her to play in the tournament's qualifiers. She ultimately decided to skip Roland Garros and began preparing for the upcoming grass-court events, which commence shortly after the second Grand Slam of the year concludes in just over two weeks.

Raducanu began her clay swing by winning both her matches in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers against Diane Parry and Caroline Garcia, playing a crucial role in Great Britain's victory over France. She then participated in the Stuttgart Open (losing in the quarterfinals to Iga Swiatek) and the Madrid Open (losing in the first round to Maria Lourdes Carlé).

The former world No. 10 had hoped for wild cards at the Rome and French Open, but without success. Raducanu decided against playing qualifiers and immediately started preparing for the grass-court season.

This time, she has been fortunate with wild cards in her home country, and her schedule is taking shape. She will first compete in the Nottingham Open from June 12 to 18, followed by the Eastbourne International from June 20 to 25. Both tournaments will serve as preparation for Wimbledon, which begins on July 1.

The WTA 250 Birmingham Classic has confirmed its first wild card for the former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniack. The tournament, also known as the Rothesay Classic, will be held at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, United Kingdom, from June 17 to 23, 2024.

Like Raducanu, the Danish player had limited opportunities to compete during the clay swing. With only a handful of tournaments since returning to the WTA Tour last year, Wozniacki, currently ranked No. 117, has climbed from having no ranking to near the top 100. However, she only played two tournaments during the clay swing.

The 2018 Australian Open champion was denied wild cards for the Rome and French Open, leading her to also wait until the grass swing to compete again. The French Federation of Tennis (FFT) decided to allocate six wild cards to French players, along with Alja Tomljanovic (AUS) and Sachia Vickery (USA), who benefited from agreements between the FFT and the organizers of the Australian Open and US Open.