Emma Raducanu’s latest move drops major hint amid uncertain French Open fate

Emma Raducanu may have dropped a major hint that she is preparing to play in the French Open qualifying as the British tennis star is withdrawing from Strasbourg amid an uncertain French Open fate. Raducanu, who missed the ongoing Rome Open after not being awarded a main draw wildcard into the Italian WTA 1000 tournament, was scheduled to return to action at next week’s WTA 500 event in Strasbourg.

But while Raducanu was waiting for Strasbourg to start, there was hope that she would be announced as a French Open main draw recipient. But on Tuesday when the French Open organizers announced main draw wildcards, Raducanu’s name wasn’t on the list. Now, Raducanu – who is just below the cut off – needs either four withdrawals to make the main draw directly or to earn a main draw spot through the qualifying. Since the French Open qualifying and Strasbourg are taking place simultaneously, Raducanu had to pick one after she was probably made aware that she would not get a French Open wildcard..

Raducanu’s clay season so far
After winning two Billie Jean King Cup matches on clay, Raducanu also made a very solid start to her clay season as she won her opening two matches at a WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart before losing a tight quarterfinal meeting versus world No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The week after Stuttgart, Raducanu was back in action in Madrid but it didn’t go well since she was ousted 2-6 2-6 by world No. 71 Maria Lourdes Carle. During the match versus Carle, Raducanu looked down on energy and it appeared that the efforts from the BJK Cup weekend and Stuttgart got to her body.

But since her Madrid exit, 20 days have passed and Raducanu has had a lot of time to rest and recharge. If Raducanu indeed takes part in the French Open qualifying next week, she will be playing in a Grand Slam qualifying for the first time since her historic 2021 US Open run, when she became the first-ever qualifier to win a Grand Slam.