Marion Bartoli highlights the biggest problem for Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon now
Emma Raducanu enjoyed her best-ever grass court tournament at Queen’s by reaching the final of one of her home events.
Raducanu defeated Anna Blinkova, Sorana Cirstea, Kamilla Rakhimova, and Iva Jovic to reach the final, before losing to Donna Vekic in straight sets.
The British No. 1, who is back working with coach Andrew Richardson, showed the sort of form that helped her win the US Open as a qualifier during her run at Queen’s.
Raducanu immediately withdrew from the Nottingham Open after Queen’s, but there is a chance she could play in Eastbourne as a Wimbledon warm-up.
She will then head to Wimbledon, where she will be buoyed by her recent form and the fact she will likely begin the Grand Slam as one of the top 32 seeds.
Raducanu currently sits at World No. 31 so she is right on the cusp of earning seeded entry into Wimbledon. If she does, she will not have to play another seeded player until the third round at the earliest.
Marion Bartoli, who was impressed with Raducanu’s run at Queen’s, believes the British star’s biggest issue at Wimbledon will now be dealing with the pressure.
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Speaking to Sky Sports about Raducanu’s run at Queen’s, the Frenchwoman said: “Extremely encouraging. She had a tough clay court season obviously ending it early in Roland Garros and I think she had probably a good amount of days on the grass to get herself ready.
“The way she was able to beat Iva Jovic specifically in the semi-final of Queens, playing extremely aggressive tennis, really sort of playing the tennis that got her to win the US Open was for me extremely encouraging.
“You can tell she was back on the court fighting physically being ready. Yes, she came up a little short in the final, but to pull out a week like that just before Wimbledon should be extremely encouraging for her.”
Raducanu will arrive at the top British star in the women’s draw and Bartoli believes that added pressure could be a sticking point.
“We know she that capability of playing amazing tennis and it’s about having that confidence before a Grand Slam which is always a bit trickier in terms of pressure to handle,” she said.
“I was absolutely extremely pleasantly surprised with the way she has been able to play at Queens which is such a strong field. The tournament has such a strong level to be able to see it was absolutely really brilliant to see.”
Raducanu has reached the fourth round of Wimbledon on two occasions, most recently in 2024 when she was defeated in three sets by qualifier Lulu Sun.
