Emma Raducanu urged to make a change after skipping French Open – EXCLUSIVE
EXCLUSIVE: Emma Raducanu has been advised to rethink her approach after pulling out of French Open qualifying.
Emma Raducanu has been told to make changes to her schedule after pulling out of French Open qualifying. She just missed the main draw cut-off with her protected ranking and did not receive a wildcard. But retired pro Barbara Schett told Express Sport that Raducanu needed some matches on top of her practice sessions to build confidence.
“I think because she didn’t get a wildcard for the main draw it would’ve made that decision a little bit easier for her,” the former world No. 7 said of Raducanu’s choice to skip the qualifying event.
“She loves playing on grass. She always had interesting decisions. She has a different view on things a lot of the time but whatever works for her.” Schett, who will present the live Roland-Garros coverage on Eurosport and discovery+ from the mixed-reality Cube studio, understood why Raducanu wanted to prioritise the grass swing but still thought she could benefit from some match play.
She continued: “I think the grass court season is an important season for her. Obviously she’s going to play all the tournaments in Britain and Wimbledon is a highlight for her, that’s where she wants to play her best.
“And she always is a big believer that she gets her confidence in practice and she said yeah I want to do this long practice block now for three weeks and then be full of confidence.”
The 2021 US Open champion has often stressed the importance of training blocks and previously said she wanted to lay foundations after battling wrist injuries early in her career. But many believe that Raducanu should drop down to lower-tier tournaments instead of playing Grand Slams, 1000s and 500s, and Schett is one of them.
“I think that sometimes it would be good for her, if you look at her schedule this year she played all the big events, she got wildcards. Maybe it’s good to play a little bit of a smaller event to get those matches in,” the Austrian added.
“Because practice is important, when you’re fit and everything it gives you a lot of confidence. But at the end of the day you need to play matches, that’s where you get confidence as well. It’s her decision, obviously she knows what’s best for her and her
