Emma Raducanu withdraws from French Open to prepare for grass season ahead of Wimbledon
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Updated 20/05/2024 at 08:36 GMT
Britain's Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from this week's French Open after not receiving a wildcard for the clay court tournament, which is set to begin with qualifying on Monday. The Brit hasn't played since losing to Maria Lourdes Carle in Madrid last month, after which she said she felt "mentally and emotionally exhausted". Raducanu will now prepare for the grass and hard-court seasons.
'Trying to rip the ball' - Robson excited to see Raducanu playing 'aggressively' again
Emma Raducanu has confirmed she has withdrawn from the French Open, a day before qualifying for the Grand Slam begins.
The 21-year-old Briton is not affected by injury but has decided to miss the Paris tournament in order to maintain her fitness for the rest of 2024.
Raducanu would have been required to go through qualifying at Roland-Garros as her ranking is not sufficient to go directly into the main draw, and despite being a former US Open winner, she was not given a wildcard.
“It’s important for me to keep laying on the foundations, and I will use the time to do a healthy block before the grass and subsequent hard-court seasons to give myself a chance to keep fit for the rest of the year,” Raducanu said.
The Brit has not played since losing in the first round of the Madrid Open to Maria Lourdes Carle last month.
After that defeat, in which she lost in straight sets, Raducanu said she was "mentally and emotionally exhausted."
The comments drew disappointment from her Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong, who said: "We talk a lot about head, heart and legs, and if your head and your heart aren’t in it, your legs don’t stand a chance.
"It was really disappointing to see. She said she was tired, but do you talk yourself into more tiredness?”
Raducanu has garnered an alarming and growing injury portfolio in her young career, including wrist and ankle operations last year.
She showed encouraging signs in the BJK Cup in Le Portel after pulling Great Britain to victory over France with back-to-back wins over Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry.
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Raducanu: My biggest goal in 2024 is being injury free
She followed that up by taking world No. 1 Iga Swiatek to a tie-break in Stuttgart's indoor clay but has been absent since the loss to Carle.
She now intends to spend the next few weeks preparing for the grass season, in preparation for the English summer and Wimbledon in July.
The French Open begins on May 26 and will conclude with the women's final on June 8, and the men's on June 9. Qualifying takes place from Monday, May 20, until Friday, May 24.
The tournament will be available live on discovery+.
Stream top tennis action, including the 2024 French Open, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com
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