Emma Raducanu’s early exit from the French Open has given her extra time to prepare for the grass-court season with her first tournament set to start on 8 June.
Having played only one match on clay in the build-up to Roland Garros, Raducanu slumped to a 6-0, 7-6 (7-4) defeat to world No 68 Solana Sierra as she made 42 unforced errors during the encounter.
That clash – which took place on 24 May – was only her second match since losing in the round of 32 at the Indian Wells Open in March – as she missed the Miami Open, Linz Open, Madrid Open and Italian Open due to a post-viral infection.
Despite the humbling defeat to Sierra, Raducanu felt her decision to play at Roland Garros will be good for her in the longer run with the grass season around the corner.
“It will help me. I haven’t played matches and it’s obviously very difficult coming in not having had any matches towards the back end of the clay season and these girls having tournament after tournament of confidence and wins. That was pretty tricky for me,” she explained.
“I didn’t necessarily do as well as I’d like to this year but the only way to face and improve how I’m feeling is to go through the tough parts, to go through the pain of it, and hopefully come out on the other side better and stronger.”
What’s To Come For Raducanu
Raducanu has signed up for three tournaments with the first set to be in London as she is one of 17 players who have been confirmed for the Queen’s Club Championship that runs from 8-14 June.
The WTA 500 event will be packed with top-10 starts with Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova and Victoria Mboko all set to feature.
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After that she is set to head to Germany for the Berlin Open, although organisers are yet to confirm her entry for the WTA 500 field that will feature nine of the top-10 players in the current rankings.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka will headline the field with Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Pegula, Anisimova, Elina Svitolina, Mirra Andreeva and Mboko all confirmed. World No 3 Iga Swiatek is the only top-10 star missing.
Raducanu’s Wimbledon preparation will then conclude at the WTA 250 Eastbourne International with the event starting on 21 June.
World No 13 Jasmine Paolini is currently the highest-ranked player on the entry list with 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko also set to feature.
The focus then switches to the All England Club with Wimbledon running from 29 June to 12 July.