Emma Raducanu’s discomfort on clay courts is no secret! In fact, she admitted this during Britain’s clash against France in the 2024 BJP Cup qualifiers. Last year, she had even pulled out of the qualifiers for the French Open to prepare herself for the grass court swing. Raducanu has always preferred player on the faster surfaces. However, having said, that in a previous interview with LTA she also mentioned, “It’s not necessarily the surface that I’m most comfortable on or my most preferred surface, but it’s something that I enjoy the challenge of.” Talking about her challenges on dirt in this season, Raducanu won her first match in Madrid, but went down to Marta Kostyuk in a three-set thriller in the R64. After that, she has now already secured her second win at the Italian Open. Despite this winning start to her campaign in Rome, the Brit was yet again spotted sharing her thoughts about her ups and downs on this surface. What did she say?
After losing to Kostyuk in the Madrid Open, Emma Raducanu said, “I think it’s positive to get through and play two matches on the outdoor clay courts. I would say that it is pretty noticeable to me that I don’t necessarily feel very comfortable, but I think that’s something that I can improve on and work on. And it is my second proper clay season and the first one in three years.”
Now, after securing an impressive 6-2,6-2 win over the Swiss, Jil Teichmann, Raducanu was spotted giving an interview with Tennis Channel. During the interview, she was asked to share her thoughts about her relationship with clay.
In reply to that, Raducanu laughed and said, “It’s complicated. Some days I like it. I feel like I’ve good time on the ball. Someday I feel like my positioning and my feet are going to go under me. So you know it’s love-hate sometimes. But I’m working on it and it’s getting better.” Emma Raducanu needs to bring out her A-game in her next match as she’s all set to face the 2022 French Open quarterfinalist, Veronika Kudermetova in the next round. Can she do that? Time will tell!
After defeating the Swiss in just 90 minutes, Raducanu looked quite pleased with her performance but she yet again highlighted the question marks about her performance on this surface. “To be honest it was pretty mental. I was warming up for my match against Alexandrova and then all of a sudden I get told I’m playing Jil and then on top of that she’s a lefty so it’s a completely different challenge. I still don’t really feel comfortable [on clay] but in a way it help me because I have to be super focused on every single point just get my feet right and try and not fall over, so it is a big challenge,” she said in her interview with Sky Sports.
Although Emma Raducanu claims she’s slowly finding her feet, but there isn’t much time left before things get started at the biggest clay court event, i.e. the French Open. The world number 49 has a good chance of playing in the main draw of the Roland Garros this year. It’ll be just the second time in her career that she’ll be playing in the main draw at this event. Her only appearance at the French Open was in 2022 when she reached the second round. What are her chances in the upcoming big events, though?
Former world number claims that the clay season is more like a “building blocks” for Emma Raducanu ahead of the grass swing
Despite not having a good track record on the clay, British tennis legend, Laura Robson claimed that Emma Raducanu may shine on this surface if she commits herself to playing more tournaments on dirt. Last month in an interview with Sky Sports Tennis, Robson said, “I’m sure Emma would like to do well on clay and grass this year and play a full schedule. Clay is great for developing all areas of the game. Tactically, it’s a great surface to learn how to turn around matches when you are behind in slower conditions.” According to her clay conditions change a lot depending on the weather conditions of a particular venue.
However, according to Jim Courier the clay court season is about “building blocks” for the Brit ahead of the grass court tournaments. He added, “What I do hope is that it’s able to last at least through the grass-court season. No one’s expecting her to play well on clay; it’s not a natural surface for her.”
Amidst all these, Emma Raducanu recently admitted that she needs to “figure another solution out” for coaching situation ahead of the French Open. The British tennis star has started a part-time partnership with Andy Murray’s former coach, Mark Petchey in March this year. However, Petchey has been juggling the role with television work and as a result, he’s unavailable for the Italian Open. Hence, the former LTA national women’s coach, Jane O’Donoghue has been spotted in the player’s box during Raducanu’s matches in Rome.
Speaking on this situation and her partnership with Petchey in an interview with BBC Sport, Raducanu said, “It’s been working pretty well. Mark is doing his commentary work and around that he is going to help me as much as he can and hopefully the times align that he can be there with me in the matches. That’s why Jane is here for when he’s not able to make it to the session. While she’s not working it’s nice to have her as much as possible, but she will go back to work and then I need to figure another solution out.”
The coaching turmoils keeps on haunting Emma Raducanu, will she ever find a consistency in her team? Share your thoughts on the comment box and also let’s know what do you think about her chances at the French Open this year.
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