Emma Raducanu has provided an explanation for her decision to withdraw from the French Open qualifying competition. She has stated that the reason for her choice is to “lay foundations” and maintain her fitness for the duration of the year.

After being disqualified for an automatic entry into Roland Garros, Raducanu was also disqualified for a wildcard entry into the clay-court Grand Slam tournament held in France.

She was therefore left with the option of either joining the qualifying draw or hoping that there were sufficient withdrawals to propel her into the main draw. This was due to the fact that she was third on the alternate list through her special rating of 103.

Nevertheless, the competitor who won the US Open in 2021 decided to pursue a third alternative by withdrawing from qualifying and also removing herself from the alternate list.

“It is important for me to keep laying on the foundations, and I will use the time to do a healthy block before the grass and subsequent hard-court seasons to give myself a chance to keep fit for the rest of the year,” she said in a statement. “I will use the time to do a healthy block.”

Read more about how Emma Raducanu responds to “those” who question her dedication to the sport of tennis here.

The most recent move that she has made has caused some people to raise their eyebrows because she has only competed in sixteen matches since she made her return at the beginning of the year, and her win-loss record is 9–7.

Following an early exit from the Madrid Open when she was surprised by qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle, Raducanu admitted she felt “mentally and emotionally I was exhausted” after playing in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, the Stuttgart Open and in Spain.

The 22-year-old hasn’t played professionally since that match against Carle on April 24 as she also skipped qualification for the Italian Open and this week’s WTA 500 tournament in Strasbourg.

Opportunity Knocks

Raducanu will enter into the grass-court season a little undercooked and a major battle ahead as she seeks to build her way up from the No 212 in the WTA Rankings.

She missed the full grass and hard-court campaigns last year as she was recovering from wrist and ankle surgery, but it is excellent news as far as Raducanu is concerned as it means she has no points to defend until early 2025.

She has been critiqued for not playing enough, but her Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong says her confidence comes from training.

“It’s a number of weeks between now and the first grass-court event. That’s a big training block and she’s already had eight months off on the sidelines,” she said on Sky Sports Tennis.

“She has said and proven she gets confidence from the hours she puts in on the practice court.”

What Is To Come?

The Rothesay Open in Nottingham is the first grass-court event on the WTA Tour season as it takes off on June 10 and she will very certainly be awarded a wildcard if her special ranking is not enough for a straight entrance.

She might potentially elect to return early and drop to down a few tiers and compete at the Surbiton Trophy on the ITF Women’s Tour with the event getting underway on June 3. Raducanu last competed at a lesser level in 2021 when she won WTA 125 Chicago just weeks before going on to win the US Open.

The WTA calendar is rather clear after that as the Nottingham event is followed by the Birmingham Classic, Eastbourne International and Wimbledon.