Emma Raducanu's recent scheduling decisions have generated some attention, but the former US Open champion has signed up for the 2024 Hong Kong Open after the US Open.
There have been some positive signs for Raducanu in 2024. She returned to the WTA Tour this season after nine months out in 2023 with wrist and ankle injuries that required surgeries.
The 21-year-old played her best tennis so far this year during the grass-court season. She came close to reaching the final at the Nottingham Open but lost out to the eventual champion Katie Boulter in the semifinal.
Raducanu then progressed to the fourth round of Wimbledon, beating Maria Sakkari to make that stage. Unfortunately for the Briton's local fans at SW19, her run ended after a shock defeat to Lulu Sun.
The 2021 US Open champion skipped the Olympics and made a decent start to her North American hard-court season by progressing to the quarterfinal of the Citi Open in Washington, losing a tight match to Paula Badosa.
Raducanu surprised many by not playing in the qualifying stages of the Canadian Open or the Cincinnati Open after not receiving a wild card for either event. Instead, she elected to return home to the United Kingdom.
Interestingly, Raducanu admitted she might have played in Cincinnati if she had been given a wild card. That proves her plan was not always to return to the UK, and she did not want to go through the qualifying.
Monica Puig, the gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, did not agree with her decision. The Puerto Rican feels Raducanu needs matches, and Puig does not believe rejecting qualifying matches is the right approach.
Most of the WTA Tour's tournaments after the US Open take place in Asia. Raducanu will play in the main draw of the WTA-250 tournament at the Hong Kong Open after being confirmed for the event.
The South China Morning Post reported on Raducanu's involvement in the Hong Kong Open. The tournament takes place at the end of October, the final week of WTA tournaments before the WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Raducanu's mother is Chinese, which means she could get additional support in some of the tournaments during the Asian swing, especially the WTA-1000 tournaments in Beijing and Wuhan, if the former US Open champion decides to play at them.
The Hong Kong Open will also be happy to welcome back Leylah Fernandez. She won the tournament last year after an epic final against Katerina Siniakova. It was one of the most underrated finals of 2023.
Raducanu and Fernandez being on the entry list means a repeat of their 2021 US Open final is possible. They have not played each other since Raducanu triumphed 6-4, 6-3 to win the title at Flushing Meadows as a qualifier.
The pair's presence means the entry list for a WTA-250 event will be very strong. Hopefully, the fans in Hong Kong will be treated to some excellent tennis when the tournament begins at the end of October.
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