Emma Raducanu has played a lot of tennis recently, and she's still feeling the effects ahead of her 2024 Madrid Open first-round match.
The Brit hasn't played a lot of tennis in a short period of time this year. While she's played since January, her weeks generally consisted of one, occasionally two matches. She then played five matches in 10 days, which is quite a workload for a player who hasn't been used to it lately.
Her four-match win streak recently was the longest one she's had since the US Open triumph three years ago. That's a lot of tennis for a player who hasn't been the healthiest so far in her career.
Fatigue was a topic last week before her match against Iga Swiatek in Stuttgart, and it's certainly still present. She spoke with Sky Sports about her latest tennis endeavors, admitting that wins have been great for her confidence, but fatigue is also a factor ahead of the WTA 1000 event.
"I feel I am playing really well and racking up confidence week-by-week. It’s a challenge coming here to Madrid. It’s the first outdoor tournament I’ve played since Indian Wells (in March) so I have had to adjust quickly. I’m trying to freshen up physically as much as possible before tomorrow. This was the last place I came to last year before surgery and then I missed eight months."
She is starting against Maria Lourdes Carle, who might not be a big name, but she's a very capable player on clay. She's a Top 100 ranked player who won't be easy to beat, so Raducanu will have to be careful.
She showed some good tennis in Madrid in the past, so it shouldn't be a huge problem, especially with the way she has performed lately.
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