Find out everything you need to know about British tennis superstar Emma Raducanu, including her current ranking, latest results, and when she is next appearing in action; Raducanu looking to overcome foot injury to play at Wuhan Open, exclusively live on Sky Sports Tennis
Thursday 26 September 2024 19:49, UK
Emma Raducanu hopes to be fit for the Wuhan Open where she has entered into the qualifying draw. The WTA 1000 event is live on Sky Sports Tennis from October 7-13.
The Brit has struggled to recapture the form that saw her win the US Open three years ago, and suffered a first-round exit at this year's tournament.
Raducanu made it through to the Korea Open quarter-finals, only to retire during her contest against Daria Kasatkina due to a foot injury.
Raducanu, who subsequently pulled out of the China Open in Beijing, will now be hoping to be fit for the start of the Wuhan Open qualifying draw, a WTA 1000 event from October 7-13, live on Sky Sports Tennis unless she receives a wild card.
Here are all the key current questions as Raducanu hopes to end 2024 on a high...
Raducanu was knocked out in the opening round of the US Open by Sofia Kenin in a battle of former Grand Slam champions in New York.
Kenin had previously won the Australian Open and she sent Raducanu packing with a 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory.
Kenin ripped through the opening set by winning six straight games before Raducanu upped her level in the second set.
However, Raducanu ran out of steam, dropping serve with a double fault in the fifth game of the decider as she was broken, and there was no way back from there as Kenin saw out the match.
"I feel down, I feel sad. Obviously, this is a tournament I really want to do well in so... after the first set I was outplayed completely and I think I did well to equal it," said the 21-year-old.
"The third set was pretty high-level tennis and I think certain parts of my game in dealing with her speed of shot, dealing with her pace, certain parts I actually executed better than in previous matches.
"I came across a very in-form opponent, and she played really well."
Raducanu has had broadly positive results since returning from an eight-month injury layoff last year, after closing down her 2023 season early following a first-round exit in Stuttgart.
Raducanu helped steer Great Britain to a spot in the Billie Jean King Cup finals as they beat home favourites France on clay, and carried on that form into the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart in April.
She lost to Swiatek in the quarter-finals - a rematch from the same stage two years ago, and her best performance this year. She also beat former two-time Stuttgart champion and three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber in the opening round.
It has not been all plain sailing, though, for the 21-year-old since her return to the WTA Tour. She failed to win any back-to-back matches until reaching the third round of Indian Wells.
There were impressive moments though, with her victory over Marie Bouzkova in Abu Dhabi before being denied a spot in the quarter-finals by Ons Jabeur, probably standing out as the real high point.
On grass this summer, Raducanu was impressive, reaching the semi-final in Nottingham where she was beaten by fellow Brit Katie Boulter before defeating Sloane Stephens and second seed Jessica Pegula in Eastbourne.
She then delivered the most promising tennis yet of her comeback by making it to the round of 16 at Wimbledon following standout wins over Elise Mertens and ninth seed Maria Sakkari, before being halted by qualifier Lulu Sun.
At the Citi Open in Washington DC, Raducanu narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot after losing to Paula Badosa in a mammoth three-set match which lasted just under three hours.
At the Korea Open, Raducanu battled hard to beat top-50 players Peyton Stearns and Yue Yuan on her way to a last-eight showdown with the top seed, Kasatkina.
Raducanu did receive treatment on her foot during her victory over Yuan, but had to retire during her quarter-final with injury after losing the first set 6-1.
Raducanu is currently ranked No 54 in the world after winning two matches in Seoul against American Peyton Stearns and China's Yue - both ranked higher - enabling her to move back on the verge of the world's top 50.
Although it is some way off her career-high ranking of 10, which she held back in July 2022, it is worth noting that Raducanu has played 33 matches on the WTA Tour this season, which is three short of her tally in 2022.
The British No 2 is next scheduled to play in Wuhan, China on October 7 where she has entered her name into the qualifying draw, something she has been reluctant to do since winning the US Open three years ago.
A host of big-name players, including fellow Grand Slam winners Sofia Kenin, Sloane Stephens, Bianca Andreescu, and Naomi Osaka, have also entered the qualifying event.
The tournament has a 56-player draw with only the top 43 ranked players receiving direct entry.
It means Raducanu's standing of No 70 in the world was nowhere near the cut-off point before her rise to No 54 in the latest rankings.
The tournament will also comprise one special exempt player, four wildcards and eight qualifiers. The top eight seeds will get byes directly into the second round.
Raducanu was forced to withdraw from the Miami Open due to a lower back injury after being awarded a wildcard for the event.
She was also hampered by a stomach bug during her loss at the first major of the year, the Australian Open, but her tennis was encouraging and she stepped up her comeback with victory over Bouzkova in Abu Dhabi thereafter.
Raducanu sat out the second major of the year, withdrawing just 24 hours before French Open qualifying was due to begin, in a bid to give herself a "chance to keep fit for the rest of the year."
Sadly, that did not go entirely to plan. An untimely slip on the Centre Court grass stopped all of Raducanu's momentum as she was putting together an impressive run at Wimbledon.
My main goal is to stay healthy injury-wise, sickness-wise. Also another goal is consistency.
In the first game of the deciding set of her last-16 clash with Lulu Sun, Raducanu lost her footing whilst sliding for a forehand, then had to call on the trainer. Raducanu received treatment on her lower left leg and the middle of her back - which appeared to be bothering her throughout the match - and although she saw out the match, slumped to defeat just as she seemed to be finding her best form.
Having recovered from surgeries in 2023, Raducanu continued to manage injury risk, deciding against representing Team GB at the Paris Olympics because she did not want to switch back to playing on clay at Roland Garros ahead of the hard court tournaments in the USA.
At the Korea Open in September, Raducanu retired in the quarter-finals due to a foot injury.
"I sprained some ligaments in my foot which unfortunately need some more time to heal," she wrote on X. "It means I can't play in Beijing but I hope to be back competing as soon as I can."
So far, the 2021 US Open victory remains Emma Raducanu's sole victory in a major tournament.
She also reached the fourth round in Wimbledon that year, a feat she matched this year - and which she might have bettered on a different day vs Sun.
At the Australian and French Open, she has never progressed beyond the second round.
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