Emma Raducanu will not be playing at the 2024 French Open in Paris, and according to former WTA player Laura Robson, it was an easy call to make.
The British player discovered some really solid tennis on clay in recent weeks but she still won't be going to Paris, which was a bit of a surprise for many. Clay is not the best surface for Raducanu, but skipping over Grand Slams will always be surprising for any top player.
The statement that addressed her withdrawal from Paris underlined her desire to better prepare for the grass season so that she can later move into the hard court season fully healthy and ready to take on the challenges.
At first glance, it makes sense because these upcoming weeks will have a lot of tennis crammed in, and Raducanu opting to focus on grass instead of clay can be reasoned. Robson herself finds the decision quite logical, explaining it to Tennis365.
"I can see exactly what her thinking is. You’ve got a really big run of tournaments coming up if you are looking to play every week on the grass and you have to make sure your body is as ready as possible. She knows that’s a surface she can do really well on."
It could work out well for Raducanu, who certainly favors Wimbledon more than Roland Garros. Even the US Open probably ranks higher due to her history there, so if she was going to skip any major, it was this one, especially after not receiving a wild card.
"Going to Paris, playing qualies, being a bit rushed trying to play the whole grass season… you want to make sure you are 100 per-cent ready to go."
"You are waiting around for wildcard announcements and knowing she wasn’t going to get into the main draw, it’s an easy decision to just take a reset and go straight to the grass."
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