Former British No. 1 Annabel Croft acknowledged that Emma Raducanu’s decision to skip this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris 2024 had taken her quite by surprise.

Due to schedule issues, Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, was officially ruled out of her Olympic debut in Paris on Sunday. Instead of returning to the clay at Roland Garros, the British player has chosen to concentrate only on hard courts until the grass season concludes.

The choice has sparked intense discussion; while some have defended Raducanu’s justification, others have questioned her dedication, a claim she strongly dismissed this week.

Croft also acknowledged that she was a little taken aback by the announcement. She expressed her thoughts about it and said: “I have to be honest, I was very surprised to hear that she wouldn’t want to go there. Every player knows her own mind at the time and she has obviously given it a huge amount of consideration and has decided to go from grass to clay and then onto the hard courts. I just hope she doesn’t regret it. I’m sure she will have many other opportunities in the future, but you never know. Her body has broken down a few times already; she has had wrist surgeries and ankle surgeries, and it has prevented her from getting any momentum in her game.”

She added: “When you play on the tour, you are very insular and it’s all about you. Very selfish. When you have to represent your country, it’s a totally different pressure and there are different nerves that run through your body. It just feels totally different from anything you experience in tennis.”

Emma Raducanu in 2024

Ranked world no.165, the Brit played her last match on the 16^th of June when she lost to world no.31 Katie Boulter 6-7(13) 6-3 6-4 in the semifinal in Nottingham (draw).

Until now, during this year Emma has a 11-8 record. Emma Raducanu’s latest run in Nottingham was the best achievement of her season.