Emma Raducanu’s rankings boost paying dividends with US Open announcement

Emma Raducanu’s impressive grass-court season form has been rewarded with a timely boost ahead of her US Open return later this summer. The 21-year-old has been slowly building back up the rankings since her return from a long-term injury layoff at the beginning of 2024, but was still ranked outside the top 150 of the WTA Rankings at the start of the grass-court summer.

Raducanu decided to skip the French Open in a bid to prioritize her grass season, a decision that attracted controversy at the time – but ultimately proved a successful one.

Her form across her three grass-court events was undoubtedly impressive, reaching the last four of the Nottingham Open and the last eight of the Eastbourne International – before returning to the second week of Wimbledon. The Brit was finally able to pick up the first top-10 wins of her career but even more important was a significant rankings jump.

The 2021 US Open champion is back inside the world’s top 100, ranked as the world No 94 as of the start of this week. And, after needing a wildcard for SW19 this summer, she will no longer have to worry about entering the US Open draw – as she has done so automatically.Her return to the top 100 means that she has automatically qualified for the main draw of the major she so sensationally won three years ago, and will play in New York for the first time since her round one loss in 2022.

As a former champion with undeniable star quality, the 21-year-old may still have been high up on the list of potential wildcards for the event, which starts in the final week of August. However, her automatic entry will perhaps ease the pressure on her, knowing she can play across the hard court summer without worrying about the wildcard announcement – or having to qualify.

All eyes will now be on how she performs in the build-up to the fourth and final Grand Slam of 2024, with a significant platform set over the summer. Raducanu will first be in action in Washington D.C, choosing – like many WTA and ATP stars – to play the 500-level event in the US capital rather than at the Olympic Games in Paris.

With Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur among those also in the draw, it may be tricky for her to go too deep – though expectations will be higher after her recent performances. Raducanu will likely then play one or both of the Canada Open and the Cincinnati Masters in the build-up to action at Flushing Meadows.

With no rankings points to defend for the rest of the season, she will likely fly back up the rankings throughout the summer – the question will be how high she can rise.