Emma Raducanu surprised by opting to skip the 2024 Paris Olympics in favor of playing tennis in North America, which will begin at the Citi Open in Washington.
Raducanu was one of the two players selected to receive an ITF wild card for the Olympic Games, which shows how much the tennis world appreciates her. Despite not fulfilling the requirements, Raducanu still had the chance to play in Paris, but to the surprise of many, the Brit declined that option.
Her reasoning was simple: she didn't want to force it. In one way, this might seem like a weird reason, but given his injury history, it made sense. Raducanu skipped this year's Roland Garros in favor of the grass season, which made sense as well.
It's a surface that suits her play far better, and after a solid grass season, nobody questioned her decision. It implies that she was not in favor of playing on clay, which might have factored into this decision.
The Brit is not bad on clay, but could she really go for a medal on the red dirt? Another reason she mentioned was simply giving her body a bit of rest. She returned from injury only earlier this year, and she doesn't really need to play all events.
The goal is to play and find her best level, but she can do it by approaching her return conservatively. She's done it all year, so going from grass to clay to then hard courts didn't really make sense.
Another important thing to note is that she started her US Open preparation early. Hard is a surface she can do a lot of damage on, and obviously, she's done it in the past by winning the US Open.
If she prepares well for that major, her chances of doing well at the US Open increase. Even with all of that, many still questioned the choice, but she was comfortable with her decision and didn't regret it.
In the meantime, Raduanu appeared in Washington for the WTA 500 event, where she will play her first match since the grass season. Speaking to the media, Raducanu confirmed that she was feeling healthy physically and was excited about the prospect of playing in Washington.
"I feel good physically. I have no problems really. No niggles. I'm just very happy and excited to be in Washington. I played this tournament two years ago, and it's one of my favorites on the calendar. Unfortunately I had to miss last year. But I'm just happy to have the opportunity to be playing this year."
Missing the Olympics was Raducanu's choice, which she was quite comfortable with, even though many questioned it, including her compatriot Heather Watson. Possibly winning a trophy or two in the coming weeks would put those stories to rest, and what better place to do that than Washington, which she really seems to enjoy.
"Yeah, I think everyone is super friendly here. There's an amazing energy with the tournament, everyone who is helping out. Also I love D.C. because some parts of it remind of me of England, I'd say, with the forest right behind. I really like green."
"For me it feels really comforting. Also just it's a cool city with great restaurants, great things to do, see. I'm looking forward to hopefully having the opportunity, when I have some time, to do that."
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