Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Emma Raducanu admitted that she was struggling to keep up with the demanding WTA Tour calendar when she crashed out in the first round of the Qatar Open this week. After a disappointing performance, the British No. 7 said she “struggled with everything” and needed to schedule her tournaments better. And she could benefit from making a decisive call and dropping down to some lower-level tournaments to get some more matches under her belt.
Raducanu received a wildcard into the WTA 1000 Doha and suffered a first-round defeat for the first time this year, going out to world No. 30 Anhelina Kalinina 6-0 7-6(6). Straight after the match, a disheartened Raducanu told Sky Sports: “I think I was struggling with everything like serve, return, forehand, backhand.”
The world No. 262 came to Doha after reaching the second round in Abu Dhabi a week earlier and confessed that it was difficult to adjust to the demands of the pro circuit. “I think that it’s hard for me to get used to the tour schedule I’d say, It’s just like tournament back tournament straightaway,” she added. “So I think that I need to kind of schedule my tournaments a little bit better as well as trying to get more matches under my belt.”
Raducanu also said she would be going home instead of asking for a wildcard into next week’s WTA 1000 in Dubai. And the former world No. 10 could now consider dropping down to smaller WTA 125k tournament and even ITF events if she wants to get used to the demands of playing week-in, week-out.
READ MORE:Emma Raducanu shares iconic monologue from ‘Ratatouille’ about criticism and
There’s no denying that the 21-year-old has already proven she can challenge some of the world’s best players again. Since making her comeback in January, she has already beaten a top 40 player in Marie Bouzkova. But by playing higher-level 1000 and 500-point tournaments, it’s been difficult for Raducanu to go deep.
So far, the 2021 US Open champion has not been beyond the second round at any event. A tournament with a field of lower-ranked players could serve as an opportunity to play three or four matches in a single week and learn to recover in between. It’s something that Raducanu herself has not ruled out.
