Emma Raducanu opted against playing in the qualifiers at the 2024 Cincinnati Open, and Andy Roddick found the choice interesting, especially after Naomi Osaka chose to play in the qualifiers.
Roddick is a former ATP player who was number one at his peak. He won one Grand Slam in his career but played in several more finals, most notably at Wimbledon. The American was one of the better players in recent years, and he talked about the qualifiers and two players on the WTA Tour in his most recent podcast episode.
Roddick explained that he doesn't think he would have shied away from playing the qualifiers, even though he never had a chance to prove it in his career. He was too solid, so he never had to play the qualifiers.
In his mind, there are some positives about playing qualifiers because players get a few matches in before the main draw kicks off. Raducanu recently clarified that she doesn't have anything against qualifiers either, but then she didn't play them when she had a chance.
The British player didn't get a wild card for the Cincinnati Open, which is what was reported she was hoping for. After not getting that chance, the Brit opted against playing in the qualifiers, explaining the decision as one that her team made with the goal of an ideal preparation for the US Open.
According to reports, going back home to London and preparing there was deemed the better solution for her. However, she was hoping for a wild card, and if she had gotten one, she would have probably played.
Roddick found the decision strange, especially after seeing somebody like Naomi Osaka play the qualifiers at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati.
"Raducanu… I loved what she was building through Washington and then she decided she wasn’t going to play qualifiers in any of the tournaments, which is even stranger when you see someone like Naomi Osaka put pride on the side and go play qualifiers in Cincinnati."
"Those of us questioning that decision maybe felt validated once we see someone like an Osaka go play qualifying. So, we don’t know, I loved what Raducanu was building at Wimbledon, I loved the continuation of that in Washington."
Another thing mentioned in Roddick's podcast is Raducanu's history with qualifiers. Her biggest career achievement came at the US Open 2021, and she was a qualifier at that event.
She went into the qualifiers and won three matches, arriving in the main draw in super form, smashing everybody in her path.
"Isn’t it weird that Raducanu is now so averse to playing qualifiers when the one breakthrough tournament of her career came when she got all that momentum after having qualified?"
Unless Raducanu gets another chance to play qualifiers, we won't really know if this was a one-off or a deliberate decision. Now, she has to focus on the US Open, as she has to play Sofia Kenin in the first round, which will be a very interesting matchup.
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