Emma Raducanu NOT on French Open entry list as she faces waiting game
Emma Raducanu is facing an uncomfortable wait to discover if she will get a chance to play in next month’s French Open.
The 2021 US Open champion has seen her ranking slide outside the top 300 of the WTA Tour after she missed much of the last 12 months due to injury.
Raducanu underwent double wrist and ankle surgery last May, forcing her to miss the rest of the 2023 season.
Her absence from the game saw Raducanu’s ranking take a dive, but she can use a protected ranking of No 103, which was the ranking she was at when she stepped away from the game.
Unfortunately for Raducanu, that ranking is not enough to get her into Grand Slam events and that was confirmed when she missed out on direct entry into the Australian Open in January.
She was preparing to play in qualifying in Melbourne but sneaked into the main draw after several players pulled out with injury.
Raducanu will now be hoping for something similar in the second Grand Slam of the year after French Open chiefs confirmed she has not made the cut for direct entry into their women’s singles’ draw.
Eight players have chosen to use their protected ranking after being out of action due to injury or pregnancy.
This is the case for Angelique Kerber (No 31) and Naomi Osaka (No 46), who both made their comeback in Australia in January, after giving birth to their first child in 2023.
Irina-Camelia Begu (No 49), Amanda Anisimova (No 61), Bianca Andreescu (No 64), Julia Grabher (No 73), Alison van Uytvanck (No 97) and Aleksandra Krunic (No 99) will also be entered straight into the main draw, whose cutoff ranking is currently set at No.99.
Raducanu’s protected ranking of No 103 will be enough to get her into qualifying at the French Open and she is the fifth alternative (reserve) for the main draw in Roland Garros.
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There is a strong chance that Raducanu will sneak into the draw with players likely to withdraw over the next few weeks and her form while playing for Great Britain in last weekend’s Billie Jean King Cup win against France suggests she could be a threat in the second half of the tennis year.
Raducanu produced another dazzling comeback win to help Great Britain qualify for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in stunning fashion with a 3-1 win over France.
Anne Keothavong’s team were big underdogs ahead of the qualifier on clay in Le Portel and had lost to the same opponents in Coventry last year, but entered day two level at 1-1 after Raducanu’s impressive three-set victory over Caroline Garcia on Friday.
Katie Boulter put her day one disappointment behind her to produce an excellent 7-5 6-0 win over world number 44 Clara Burel for a career-best victory on clay.
It opened the door for former US Open champion Raducanu to send Britain through to the Finals later this year in Seville, but she was pushed all the way by Diane Parry in a pulsating contest that lasted two hours and 52 minutes.
Parry won the first set but Raducanu, back in the team for the first time in two years following an injury-hit 2023, fought back to clinch a tremendous 4-6 6-1 7-6 (1) victory that not only sends her country through to the November Finals but serves notice to her rivals ahead of the clay-court season.
“To be able to put two matches like that back-to-back, three sets and on clay against really tough opponents, it’s just a testament to the work we’ve been doing,” Raducanu told the BBC.
“I knew it would pay off eventually, so I’m very pleased that this weekend it was able to show.”
Raducanu has a chance to boost her ranking if she continues to show good form, as invites into high-profile tournaments are certain to continue to flow for the Grand Slam winner.
