Emma Raducanu-less Great Britain have nightmare French Open, go winless in opening round
All six singles players from Great Britain failed to make it past the first-round at the ongoing 2024 French Open, which Emma Raducanu did not compete in. Andy Murray, Cameron Norrie, Jack Draper, Dan Evans, Katie Boulter, and Harriet Dart, all lost in the first hurdle of the year's second Grand Slam.
Murray's exit came following his loss to Stan Wawrinka. In a battle of two three-time Grand Slam champions, Wawrinka dominated, with his signature one-handed backhand in full flow. Murray tried his best to keep up with the Swiss, but ultimately lost the match 4-6, 4-6, 2-6.
Norrie played out a five-set thriller against Pavel Kotov, only for the latter to come out on top. Draper also featured in a nail-biting five-set contest, but fell 5-7, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3, 3-6 to Jesper De Jong. Evans lost his opening encounter 6-4,6-4, 6-4 against No. 13 seed Holger Rune.
On the women's side, British No. 1 Boulter, the No. 26 seed at Roland Garros, lost to Paula Badosa, with the Spaniard roaring back from a set down to win the match 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Harriet Dart lost 7-6(3), 6-4 to No. 27 seed Linda Noskova.
Emma Raducanu could not get a wildcard for French Open 2024
Emma Raducanu did not get a wild card entry to the French Open women's singles main draw. This meant that the Brit had to play her way through the qualifying rounds. However, the 2021 US Open champion decided to withdraw from Roland Garros, choosing to turn her attention towards the grass-court season, which will get underway following the conclusion of the French Open.
In a statement, the 21-year-old explained her decision to pull out from the clay-court Major. According to Raducanu, her primary goal is to achieve peak fitness before returning to action for the grass and hardcourt seasons.
"It’s important for me to keep laying on the foundations and I will use the time to do a healthy block before the grass and subsequent hard court seasons to give myself a chance to keep fit for the rest of the year," Raducanu said.
Ranked at a lowly World No. 205 right now, Emma Raducanu is the last Brit to win a singles title at a Grand Slam till date. She has won nine out of 16 fixtures so far in 2024, with her best performance being a quarterfinal finish at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.