Emma Raducanu eyeing a first WTA Tour title as list of potential opponents is revealed
Emma Raducanu may be eyeing up her first WTA Tour title when she returns to action later this month, with her choice of tournament giving her a big chance to aim for victory.
Raducanu will be opening her clay-court campaign for 2025 at the Open Capfinances Rouen Métropole in France, a WTA 250 tournament that gets underway on April 14.
This is an interesting change to her tournament schedule, as she has tended to play in the higher-quality WTA 500 event in Stuttgart at this phase of the season.
Her appearance in Stuttgart may have been due to a commitment with Porsche, who sponsor that tournament in Germany.
However, it is unclear whether Raducanu is still sponsored by Porsche, with rumours that the deal has not been extended fuelled by her decision not to play in the tournament.
While some of the biggest names in tennis will be playing in Stuttgart, Raducanu will be keen to build on her run to the Miami Open quarter-finals last week by making progress at the Open de Rouen.
Raducanu should have a chance to pick up some wins in a tournament that will feature former WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina as the top seed.
Sofia Kenin and Bianca Andreescu join Raducanu as former Grand Slam winners on the entry list, with another former WTA Finals winner Caroline Garcia another big name competing.
Rounding out the main-draw entry list are Elina Avanesyan, Wang Xinyu, Olga Danilovic, Marie Bouzkova, Moyuka Uchijima, Anhelina Kalinina, Katerina Siniakova, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Alycia Parks, Lucia Bronzetti, Sonay Kartal, Viktoriya Tomova, Ann Li and Irina-Camelia Begu.
Raducanu has not always been comfortable on clay courts, but the absence of the biggest names on the WTA Tour should give her a chance to make progress and former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli believes the 22-year-old Brit should take confidence from her impressive performances in Miami.
“She ended up losing it at the end, but it’s not like she got thrashed out of the court,” Bartoli told Sky Sports Tennis, as she reflected on Raducanu’s tight quarter-final defeat against world No 4 Jessica Pegula in Miami.
“When you’re capable of reproducing that kind of qualities of tennis as well, that shows you that physically you’re ready, mentally you’re ready as well.
“From my point of view, coming back after what happened in Dubai, being able to regroup, get herself going and put aside the disappointment from Indian Wells when it didn’t really go her way, she still kept on putting in the hard work and believing into what she’s doing.
“The way she’s been moving on the court, you really feel physically she has been coming back close to probably her best level. That being at the US Open, the year she won, and she’s very close to it.
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“She’s building some momentum ahead of the clay, where the rally will be extended, and you want to be physically ready for that.
“So being able to just get that last hard-core tournament in Miami with some good vibes, with some positives to take away, repetitively as well, it’s really positive.”
Former British No 1 Tim Henman was also upbeat about Raducanu’s progress, as he gave his verdict to Sky Sports Tennis.
“For me, as Marion touched upon, building physical resilience, I think is the most important thing,” said Henman.
“That is what has been lacking because she’s almost had her career back to front, qualifying, winning that Grand Slam without really the physical foundation.
“When her body was breaking down, when she was in competition. I think the big positive this year is that she’s been able to compete more consistently and hopefully the results are going to come.”
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