Emma Raducanu may soon find herself out of the Top 100 on the WTA Tour as she was handed a very difficult 2023 Madrid Open draw.
In an injury-plagued 2022 season, Raducanu recorded one of her best results at the WTA 1000 in Madrid. Thanks to her points for the 2021 US Open triumph, she was seeded 9th at the event and defeated Tereza Martincova and Marta Kostyuk in the first two rounds.
In the third round, the Brit lost to Anhelina Kalinina, but she was rewarded 120 points for her efforts. This year, the Madrid Open features a new 96-player draw, and therefore the prize money and points distribution had to change too.
That means, Raducanu will now need to reach at least the fourth round to defend her points, while she can be sure to get at least 10 points for a first-round loss and 35 points if she loses in the second round.
And it will be the second round that will be very difficult for Raducanu. The young British talent was drawn against a qualifier in the first round but since the first 32 seeds in the draw have a bye in the first round, she already knows her possible second-round opponent.
And that opponent is no other than the world no. 1 Iga Swiatek. The two met in Stuttgart last year, with the young Pole winning in two sets, and Swiatek achieved the same result also this year at the Indian Wells.
A difficult draw means also a difficult faith for Raducanu. If she loses in the first round of the tournament, she will certainly drop out of the Top 100 in the WTA Rankings, with her projected rank being 101st.
However, if she beats one of the qualifiers in the first round and loses in the second round against Swiatek, she can still keep her spot among the elite 100 as she would virtually move to the 99th position, but players from behind can still overtake her with good showing in Madrid.
Another option is that Raducanu will showcase her skill in full in Madrid and even add some points to her total. The best scenario for the Brit is winning the event, which would mean that her points total would go to 1620 points and she would move back to the Top 30.
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