Emma Raducanu admits French Open was ‘thrown into question’, but ready to ‘enjoy’ herself at Roland Garros

Shahida Jacobs
May 22, 2022

The 2022 French Open was initially touch-and-go for Emma Raducanu, but she has been declared fit and is eager to continue her learning curve on clay.

The US Open champion has struggled with a back injury the past few weeks and vowed after her early exit from the Italian Open that she would only return to action once she has fully recovered.

However, she has been given the green light and will make her French Open main draw debut on Monday.

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“I’m learning about my body, for sure, but I’m very happy to be continuing my preparations for the French Open and to be able to play this tournament and fortunately I didn’t have to miss this Grand Slam,” the teenager said.

“That is definitely, you know, a really positive thing that I can – because I really look forward to these big moments and the big tournaments. Yeah, I’m looking forward to continuing.

She added: “It was definitely thrown into question. A the end of the day I’m just learning, feeling it out. Yeah, I got the all clear to continue with preparations and see how things go.”

Raducanu, who is seeded 12th for her maiden appearance at the clay-court Grand Slam, has been given a tricky assignment as she faces qualifier Linda Noskova, who is the reigning Roland Garros girls’ champion.

But it is all about learning for the British No 1 as she looks forward to continuing her learning experience on the red dirt.

“I think that when I said that six weeks ago, and I still think this, is that I could be a great clay court player, like looking forward, long, medium term, in a few years where I have definitely developed more robustness and I’m able to repeat the same shots over and over,” the world No 12 said.

“I think that I have definitely come a long way and probably progressed faster than expected of myself in the last few weeks and I really am enjoying the clay.

“To be honest, I think I’m enjoying it more than I thought I would. Clay at the beginning kind of was like written off, Oh, it’s a clay court, just have a go. But now I really believe that I can be good and faster than I thought it would be.

“I’m definitely looking forward for the coming clay court seasons.”

Emma Raducanu