Raducanu explains decision to skip key WTA events before US Open

Emma Raducanu spoke about her decision to skip several high-profile WTA tournaments, including the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open, both WTA 1000 events that seem like almost mandatory stops for top players ahead of the US Open.

Raducanu has only played one tournament in the hardcourt swing, back in the DC Open, where she reached the quarterfinals and lost to Paula Badosa in three hard-fought sets. In the following weeks, Raducanu focused on her training sessions, so she will debut at Flushing Meadows with more than three weeks out of competition.

The Brit had to undergo surgeries in 2023 and was out for much of the season. Since then, she has tried to maintain a limited schedule, playing only a handful of tournaments, while posting a record of 18-11 for the year and reaching world No. 72.

The 2021 US Open champion explained in a press conference her reasons for skipping Toronto: “I didn’t play in Toronto because it was such a tight turnaround but I would have loved to. I have a Canadian passport, but I would have had to fly Saturday, play Sunday, and I think it would have been too tight of a turnover,” Emma Raducanu said.

Raducanu has played only three of the seven WTA 1000 tournaments so far this season and also skipped the French Open in May to avoid playing qualifiers and prepare for the grass swing: “I have always done things a little bit differently. I mix and match. I don’t think I will ever be the player who’s close to 30 events a year. I think that’s not my style – it never has been."

“When I won the US Open, I only played a few tournaments that year. I’m not in any big rush to play loads. I’d rather target tournaments and be ready to play the tournaments I’ve entered in,” she added. “I would play more next year, but I don’t think I would play a lot more. I don’t think I would play everything, but I think compared to this year, I’d play a few more tournaments.”

“I feel very proud coming here, walking past my photo every day, walking past my name on the trophy every day – that’s such an epic achievement, and those two weeks I completed it, so coming back here now, I come back with such a different outlook, joy, and pride, and it inspires me to want to do more,” Emma Raducanu added.