Breaking News: Raducanu Criticized for Missing Qualifying After Wildcards Announced
Raducanu could still receive a wildcard for Tennis in the Land Cleveland or the Abierto GNP Seguros (Monterrey Open) held the week before. However, this adds to the ongoing narrative of her opting out of challenging tournament paths in her comeback year.
The former US Open champion declined a wildcard for the Paris Olympic Games to prioritize her health and focus on the US Open swing, yet she currently only plans to compete at the DC Open in Washington.
She did not secure a wildcard for the Canadian Open and chose not to enter the qualifying rounds. The same situation occurred for the Cincinnati Open, where players like Caroline Wozniacki, Bianca Andreescu, Peyton Stearns, and Caroline Dolehide were favored.
Ironically, given that her career breakthrough at the US Open began through qualifying, many on social media questioned her avoidance of this route.
One user noted, “She’d better be following in the footsteps of billionaire Emma (Navarro) and scrolling through the ITF website calendar to vulture some 75K in Chicago! She’s allergic to playing qualifying when it’s literally what gave her a career in the first place.”
Another user remarked that skipping the Olympic Games now seems counterproductive if she’s only planning to play one US tour event. “So Emma Raducanu’s skipping both hard court 1000 events before the US Open. This is really surprising to me… One of the reasons she gave for skipping the Olympics was to get a head start on the hard courts so missing both of these big events doesn’t make any sense to me.”
No Emma in Cincy
Main draw WCs go to Caroline Wozniacki, Bianca Andreescu, Peyton Stearns and Caroline Dolehidehttps://t.co/BS0xdbkn2A#Raducanu | #EmmaRaducanu
— Emma Raducanu Fans (@RaducanuNews) August 5, 2024
Like Wozniacki, who has faced similar criticism, some believe Raducanu avoids qualifying rounds due to her status in the sport—a path that others, like Naomi Osaka, have not hesitated to take despite their greater success. Ultimately, the only way for Raducanu to change this narrative is through more wins and consistent success on tour, similar to Wozniacki, who has reduced her reliance on wildcards over time.
