Emma Raducanu Poised for Major Rankings Boost Upon Return to Action

Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon dream may have ended in disappointment, but she is already turning her attention to a fresh push to leap up the WTA Rankings. Raducanu was stunned by qualifier Lulu Sun as her encouraging Wimbledon run came to a disappointing end in the fourth round. The 21-year-old had inspired hopes of more US Open-style heroics by coming through her opening three matches without dropping a set.

However, she looked nervous against powerful New Zealander Sun, the first qualifier to make the women’s singles quarter-finals here in 14 years, and, despite battling to force a deciding set, slumped to a 6-2 5-7 6-2 defeat. Now she is eyeing up a return to American hard courts, the surface when she famously won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier. She has opted to skip the Olympics and will instead play in the City DC Open in Washington, where she will get a chance to secure another big rankings surge.

Raducanu is back in the top 100 of the WTA Rankings after a solid grass court campaign saw her reach the semi-finals in Nottingham, the quarter-finals in Eastbourne and the last-16 at Wimbledon. That run also included her first two wins against top ten players, as she beat Jessica Pegula at Eastbourne and Maria Sakkari at Wimbledon. Those wins secured her a huge leap in the WTA Rankings, with a big opportunity now set to knock over the next few weeks.

Raducanu has no ranking points to defend over the second half of 2024 as she missed this phase of last season due to injury. So she will have a massive chance to climb the rankings over the next six months and that will start in Washington, with the tournament getting underway on July 27. However, the 21-year-old Brit is set to be presented with a big task as she returns to hard courts, with Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka leading the entry list in Washington.

Ons Jabeur and Madison Keys are stellar names also on the entry list in the American capital city, along with Victoria Azarenka, Sloan Stephens and Paula Badosa. This is a WTA 500 tournament and one win for Raducanu would see her rise up to around No. 83 in the rankings, with two victories taking her towards No 70 in the rankings. A semi-final run would see Raducanu leap in the rankings towards the top 60 and if she was to reach the final and win the event, the former world No 10 could be back in the top 40.

That target may be a little ambitious given the quality of the field in Washington, but there is every chance Raducanu will be back in the top 50 of the WTA Rankings by the time the US Open comes to an end in September. She will be hoping to play at the WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati, while there is also an option for her to play in a WTA 500 tournament the week before the US Open.

With 2,000 ranking points up for grabs in the final major of 2024, Raducanu would only need to win a handful of matches to secure a return to the upper echelons of the game and she is heading to America in good spirits. “I beat two top-10 players within two weeks, which is a pretty big deal for me, seeing as the whole US Open even I didn’t play one top-10 player,” said Raducanu after her defeat at Wimbledon.

“I think I have to take confidence from that. Six months ago, when I was starting out after surgery, I would have signed for fourth round at Wimbledon. Of course I’m disappointed. Of course I want more. I think everything does happen for a reason. It just fuels the fire and makes me more hungry. “You don’t want things to happen too easily and too quickly. I had that before. I don’t necessarily want just a massive spike.”