Emma Raducanu urged to make a change after skipping the...

..Emma Raducanu has been told to make changes to her schedule after pulling out of French Open qualifying. She just missed the main draw cut-off with her protected ranking and did not receive a wildcard.

But retired pro Barbara Schett told Express Sport that Raducanu needed some matches on top of her practice sessions to build confidence.

“I think because she didn’t get a wildcard for the main draw it would’ve made that decision a little bit easier for her,” the former world No. 7 said of Raducanu’s choice to skip the qualifying event.

“She loves playing on grass. She always had interesting decisions. She has a different view on things a lot of the time but whatever works for her.” Schett, who will present the live Roland-Garros coverage on Eurosport and discovery+ from the mixed-reality Cube studio, understood why Raducanu wanted to prioritise the grass swing but still thought she could benefit from some match play.

And she always is a big believer that she gets her confidence in practice and she said yeah I want to do this long practice block now for three weeks and then be full of confidence.”

The 2021 US Open champion has often stressed the importance of training blocks and previously said she wanted to lay foundations after battling wrist injuries early in her career. But many believe that Raducanu should drop down to lower-tier tournaments instead of playing Grand Slams, 1000s and 500s, and Schett is one of them.

And she always is a big believer that she gets her confidence in practice and she said yeah I want to do this long practice block now for three weeks and then be full of confidence.”