Emma Raducanu snubbed by French Open as Simona Halep and retiring star also ignored
The French Open main draw wildcard recipients have been announced.
Emma Raducanu is one of multiple Grand Slam winners to be snubbed for a wildcard at the upcoming French Open. The Brit will have to go through qualifying and has already pulled out of another WTA tournament that takes place during qualies week. 2018 champion Simona Halep was also ignored after returning from a doping suspension. And two-time finalist Dominic Thiem, who recently announced his retirement, was forgotten by organisers.
The French Open has announced their list of wildcard recipients, with some high-profile names left out. Raducanu is among those who have not been given a direct pass into the main draw after her protected ranking of No. 103 was narrowly too low to make the cut.
The 21-year-old was relying on a wildcard or five withdrawals to seal her spot in the draw. But she will now have to compete in the qualifying event if she wants to get into the French Open. Raducanu had previously been announced for next week’s Internationaux de Strasbourg but tournament organisers confirmed on Tuesday that she had pulled out.
Raducanu has yet to confirm whether she withdrew to ensure she is free to play French Open qualifying, though it seems likely given that she now has no other option. She isn’t the only US Open champion that organisers overlooked when awarding the wildcards, as Thiem was also snubbed.
A few days ago, the former world No. 3 announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season after battling a wrist injury for the last three years. Thiem reached the French Open final in both 2018 and 2019 but the tournament decided not to award him a wildcard for a farewell at one of his most successful tournaments.
Like Raducanu, the world No. 117 is five spots out of the main draw and will also need to rely on withdrawals or go through qualifying if he wants to make it to the French Open. But there is no guarantee that Raducanu or Thiem get through the qualies tournament.
Halep was also left off the list of wildcard recipients despite lifting the first of her two Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros in 2018. The former world No. 1 is continuing her comeback from a doping suspension.
However, many expected the French Open to ignore Halep after setting a precedent with Maria Sharapova. Sharapova won the title in Paris in both 2012 and 2014. She was suspended in 2016 after testing positive for meldonium during the Australian Open.
The substance was banned from January 1, 2016. Sharapova had her suspension reduced from 24 months to 15 months and when she returned to competition in 2017, the French Tennis Federation opted against giving her a wildcard. Halep recently had her four-year ban reduced to nine months after appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The decision was announced at the beginning of March but the reduced suspension meant that Halep had effectively been eligible to compete since last July. Although she received an immediate wildcard for the Miami Open following her return, the French Tennis Federation has not taken the same approach.
Another Grand Slam champion, Caroline Wozniacki, was also ignored. The former world No. 1 returned from retirement last year but she has not signed into the qualifying event so will not be able to compete for a spot.
In the women’s main draw, the wildcard recipients are Alize Cornet, Fiona Ferro, Elsa Jacquemot, Kristina Mladenovic, Chloe Paquet, Jessika Ponchet, Ajla Tomljanovic and Sachia Vickery. In the men’s main draw, the wildcards have gone to Terence Atmane, Richard Gasquet, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Harold Mayot, Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Alexandre Muller and Adam Walton.
