Emma Raducanu withdraws from French Open 2024 qualifying days after being refused wild card entry into tournament's main draw
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the qualifying rounds of the 2024 French Open. The Brit's withdrawal from the year's second Grand Slam comes days after she was refused a wild card entry into the tournament's main draw.
On Tuesday, May 14, it came to light that Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, had not been handed a wild card entry into the women's main draw at this year's French Open. After the latest round of withdrawals, the Brit is three spots away from reaching the main draw from the alternates list, barring which she would have had to play the qualifying rounds.
However, in a recent document shared by the organizers of the French Open, Raducanu's name, which appears under 'Qualifying Draw', was chalked off. The Brit is yet to confirm the reason behind her withdrawal.
Alize Cornet, Fiona Ferro, Elsa Jacquemot, Kristina Mladenovic, Chloe Paquet, and Jesikka Ponchet, all of whom are Frenchwomen, have all received wild card entries into the women's singles main draw. Additionally, Australian Ajla Tomljanovic and American Sachia Vickery are also slated to feature directly in the main draw courtesy their wild card entries.
Emma Raducanu had complained of exhaustion following early exit at the Madrid Open
Raducanu had received a wild card entry into the Madrid Open, which is a tournament owned by International Management Group (IMG), the agency that represents the Brit.
However, her campaign at the WTA 1000 event turned out to be ill-fated, as she fell to a humiliating defeat in the first round at the hands of qualifier Maria Lourdes Carle. While Lourdes Carle played a near-perfect match, at the other end, Raducanu kept making one unforced error after another.
After the loss, the Brit told the press that her dismal showing was a result of exhaustion due to competing in successive tournaments prior to the Madrid Open without sufficient time for rest and recovery.
"The last few weeks have been a lot. Starting from the Billie Jean King Cup, I haven’t stopped. It’s just been back-to-back and I was very happy being able to help carry the team in the BJK Cup, then straight to Stuttgart with no rest, then straight here and trying to adapt to the conditions which are very different because it’s outdoors and I was playing indoors for the last month," Emma Raducanu said (via The Guardian).
The Brit did not feature at the recently-concluded Italian Open, and her next tournament is yet to be announced.