Emma Raducanu sticks to her guns after making surprise Wuhan Open decision

Emma Raducanu is sticking to her word after admitting that she should have played more tournaments in the lead-up to the US Open. The Brit skipped qualifying events in Canada and Cincinnati when she failed to reach the main draw and later shared her regrets after her early exit in Flushing Meadows. And she is righting her wrongs after her name appeared in the stacked list for qualifying at the Wuhan Open – the last WTA 1000 event of the season.

Raducanu’s scheduling choices have often come under fire, though they often appeared to be the right decisions. When she skipped French Open qualifying to focus on the grass season, it paid off. She reached the semi-finals in Nottingham, quarters in Eastbourne and the last 16 at Wimbledon. The 21-year-old also missed the Olympics to focus on the North American hard-court swing and made it to the Washington quarter-finals. But things quickly started to go wrong. When she skipped qualifying in Canada and Cincinnati in favour of flying back to the UK to practice, her lack of match play affected her at the US Open and she lost in round one.

“I would have preferred to probably play, a little bit more before coming into the US Open,” a tearful Raducanu admitted after the match. “I think I can learn from it. And you know my manage my schedule slightly differently.”
She has been adding to her diary ever since. Raducanu is currently competing at the Korea Open. She has also entered the WTA 1000 in Beijing and next month’s Hong Kong Open. And the Brit has now signed up for a qualifying tournament. Raducanu’s ranking of No. 70 wasn’t high enough to get into the main draw of the Wuhan Open so she will need to come through qualifying to make it into the 56-player tournament.

The qualifying event has a stacked field. Fellow Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka, Sloane Stephens and Bianca Andreescu will also have to fight for a spot in the main draw. There are also four wildcards up for grabs and Raducanu will hope to receive one. But with other big names not ranked high enough for the main event, tournament organisers will have some tough decisions to make. Her inclusion on the qualifying entry list comes after she shared her goal to pack out her schedule before the end of the season. “I think the rest of the year, as long as I’m healthy, I’m going to try and finish the season and play as many matches as I can,” she told the WTA.

“It’s something I’m really light on since the grass through the (Washington) DC period. I’ve not played many points, even in practice.”