Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the French Open qualifying, which will take place at the end of May 2024.
Raducanu appeared on the qualifying entry list for the Open on Saturday but has now been removed. No reason has been given for her withdrawal.
Without participating in qualifying, she would need three players to withdraw from the main draw to gain a place at Roland Garros.
Raducanu said: “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.”
The 21-year-old has a protected ranking of 103rd due to surgery on her wrist and ankle in 2023, but it’s not high enough to earn her an automatic spot in the main draw.s
Raducanu ranked 221st in the world but removed herself from the list on Saturday.
She has not played competitive tennis since her first-round loss at the Madrid Open, where she suffered a first-round straight-sets defeat to Maria Lourdes Carle.
The first main event of the grass-court season is the Rothesay Open in Nottingham, which begins on June 10. Raducanu could potentially enter the second-tier tournament in Surbiton the week before.
Based on Raducano’s form and her style of play, regular fans who purchase tickets from a secondary market would agree that she would be best suited for the grass court.
However, with the British star being out of form, pressure will mount on her to perform in front of her home crowd.
Since her rise to glory, things have gone poorly on her record.
But fans with tickets from a secondary market for Wimbledon will side with her and her decision to skip the French Open to be in good form for Wimbledon.
Raducanu Critical on Pay Gap
In a recent interview with The Times, Raducanu spoke about receiving criticism about her off-court commitments.
“There are those who see me doing a shoot or posing for a commercial, and they don’t see the seven hours before that at the training center, doing physio, gym, hitting balls. But if I go to a premiere on a rare evening and get photographed, that’s my downtime.”
The Brit also mentioned the gender pay gap on tour, saying female players are underappreciated.
The Italian Open, being played in Rome this week, is offering £550,000 to its female champion, compared to around £750,000 to the winner of the men’s tournament.
“A lot of women’s players are technically better,” she said. “They rely on speed, agility, and brain rather than brute strength. The prize money gap is huge on the ATP tour, which I don’t necessarily think is fair, but equally playing three sets in the slams is a lot better than the men’s five, which is brutal.”
Djokovic Has a Plan to Make Kyrigios Win
Novak Djokovic has a major plan to help Nick Kyrgios triumph, but how?
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has created a special six-month program for the Australian player. While initially offered exclusively to Kyrgios, another tennis star with aspirations of Grand Slam glory, Naomi Osaka, has expressed interest in joining the program.
Recently, Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios dropped a glimpse of Djokovic having a conversation with the 28-year-old tennis star. In that, the Serbian tennis player sarcastically talked about having a special offer for him. He said, “The offer still stands. You get on my six-month daily program, and you win Wimbledon.”
On the other hand, the 2022 Wimbledon finalists rejected that offer and said, “No chance. I’m not living like that. No way.”
However, as soon as Osaka learned about this program, she took to her Instagram account to share the clip and wrote, “Lol, I want to get on his six-month daily program.”
Even though it was a sarcastic banter conversation about having a program between the two, the four-time Grand Slam champion seemed interested in marking her authority on the courts of SW19 with the help of seven-time Wimbledon Champion Djokovic.
In 2022, Kyrgios lost his chance to win a Grand Slam title at Wimbledon by losing the final to the 36-year-old Serbian tennis player.
Kyrgios and Djokovic’s relationship evolved significantly in 2022, particularly during last year’s Australian Open. Despite their previous conflicts, the Aussie stood behind Djokovic at the Australian Open when the latter was being deported because of his anti-vaccine views.
This support further cemented their relationship; the world number one even called it a “bromance.” Also, earlier this year at the Australian Open, both of them took their bromance to the next level.
Novak Djokovic’s ‘bromance’ with Nick Kyrgios
During the Australian Open quarterfinals, the 24-time Grand Slam champion showed his love for the Australian star by blowing kisses at him. Despite their history of exchanging barbs, Djokovic and Kyrgios now have a cordial connection; during the match, the Serb even made Kyrgios chuckle in the ESPN commentary box.
He disclosed startling details about his connection with Djokovic, saying they now communicate by exchanging memes virtually daily and highlighting how much has changed.
Djokovic Yet to Get Back to Form
Novak Djokovic says he is still looking for his highest level as he prepares for his opening match of the Italian Open on Friday, live on Sky Sports.
The men’s world No one has played in only three tournaments so far in 2024, losing in the semi-finals of both the opening Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open, and on the clay at the Monte-Carlo Masters last month.
Fans with tickets from a secondary market are anxiously getting ready for the two big tournaments—Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Wimbledon will be as special as Djokovic. If he wins in 2024, he can level himself with Roger Federer for most Wimbledon titles.
The Italian Open represents Djokovic’s final tune-up ahead of his title defense at the French Open. The 36-year-old hopes “to arrive ready to fight for a title,” with further Slam opportunities at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Olympics lying in wait this summer.
“I’m yet to find the highest level of tennis,” Djokovic told Sky Sports.
“The block of Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, Olympics, and US Open is the most important of the year for me. That’s the priority and what I’m setting my form for.