Emma Raducanu ‘looks really good’ says Laura Robson as she assesses British No. 1 ahead of clay season
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Updated 06/04/2023 at 13:41 GMT
Emma Raducanu should have no issues on the clay according to Eurosport expert Laura Robson, who revealed the 20-year-old has been practicing at Wimbledon since losing in the opening round of the Miami Open. Raducanu is set to be back in action at the Stuttgart Open from April 17, an event she did well at last year when she reached the quarter-finals, only to be beaten by Iga Swiatek.
'Emma's level is there for sure!' - Robson confident on Raducanu ahead of clay season
Eurosport expert Laura Robson says Emma Raducanu “looks really good” ahead of the clay season and thinks certain conditions will suit her style on the surface.
Raducanu is set to be back in action at the Stuttgart Open from April 17, where she reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 event last year, falling to Iga Swiatek in the last eight.
This season, a second-round defeat to Coco Gauff at the Australian Open was followed by a month off due to tonsillitis, before the 20-year-old made the fourth round of Indian Wells and most recently lost to Bianca Andreescu in her first match at the Miami Open.
“Emma's level is there for sure,” Robson told Eurosport’s Arnold Montgault. “She hits the ball just as well as any of the top players on tour.
“But it's just finding the right balance on the training side of things, on the match court and tournament schedule side of things to make it work for the body because everyone is different, everyone requires different amount of matches as well.
“I think if she's just able to get another couple of consistent weeks under her belt, then the belief will come and you start to trust your body a bit more and you start to then not worry about some small injuries because it's just part of being a tennis player.
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'Can hit through the conditions if needed' - Robson on Raducanu playing on court
“I can't think of anyone on tour who ever feels 100% healthy all the time, so Emma's just seeming to find that balance at the moment
“She's been on a practice court in the UK at Wimbledon and looks good, she looks really good.”
Following Stuttgart last season, Raducanu had early exits at the Madrid, Italian and French Open.
The British No. 1 has stated she prefers hard courts but Robson suggests the clay is not a problem for her.
“I actually think she's pretty good on clay anyway,” she added. “Last year she went into the season thinking ‘it's just going to be a bit of a learning experience for me’.
“You could tell that she was trying new things on the clay court, trying to add a little bit more spin to her forehand side.
“But she played well in Madrid, she won a couple of matches there, she had some good result and you feel like maybe that's the kind of court that's going to suit her game the most.
“Something that's a little bit faster and takes on the pace slightly more than the heavy conditions that you can get in Rome and in some of the lead up tournaments to Paris.
“I think with the way that she hits the ball, she can almost hit through the conditions if needed. It just has to keep going after her shots, which I know she's been working on at the moment.”
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