Emma Raducanu, the British No. 2, may experience a temporary dip in her WTA rankings as she takes a brief hiatus from tennis. Her impressive performance at the Miami Open propelled her up the leaderboard, but it appears she won’t be back on the court until later this month.
Raducanu has withdrawn from the Billie Jean King Cup matches in the Netherlands scheduled for this month. Reports also suggest that she will not participate in next week’s WTA 250 tournament in Rouen, France. The 22-year-old is prioritizing her health after injuries sidelined her for much of the past two years. However, she remains listed for the Madrid Open later this month.
The 2021 US Open champion has seen a significant rise in her rankings this year, reaching No. 47. Her ascent into the top 50 was a testament to her stellar performance in Miami, where she made it to the quarter-finals.
However, she might momentarily fall out of the top 50, potentially losing the 108 ranking points she earned at the Stuttgart Open.
Nonetheless, the Madrid Open and the Italian Open present excellent opportunities for Raducanu to accumulate ranking points later in the month. There are also high hopes for her performance at the French Open, where she could earn even more points.
Raducanu
Former British tennis star Tim Henman expressed optimism about Raducanu’s decision to play more matches this year. “If she can stay healthy and competes a lot, the results will come because she’s that good,” he stated.
“If she wasn’t good enough, you’d say she has to pick her tournaments and play some weaker events. With Emma, if she stays healthy, I’m convinced the results will follow.
“I never thought it was about her level. When she has played, her level has always been very good, but if you look at the breakdown of her ranking last year, I think she played 33 matches and 11 of them were on grass.
“When you look at the other 10 months of the year, to have only played 22 matches is so few.