According to Naomi Cavaday, the sister of Emma Raducanu’s coach, the British player decided not to compete in the Cincinnati Open qualifying round because her body was giving her some trouble.
Raducanu, a past winner of the US Open, has not participated in any competitive tennis since her August 2 loss in the quarterfinal in Washington, DC. She was not granted direct entry into the Canadian Open or Cincinnati Open main draws and was not considered for wildcards.
She could play qualifiers for this week’s WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati because her ranking of No. 93, obtained leading up to the competition, was lower than the required minimum.
However, Raducanu decided not to participate in qualifying and instead travelled back to London. This choice has generated some controversy because many people think Raducanu won’t have enough match practice before the US Open, which begins on August 26.
Nick Cavaday’s sister Naomi was co-commentating for the Cincinnati Open alongside Laura Robson. Nick Cavaday has been Raducanu’s coach since the beginning of the year.
Robson asked Cavaday: “I was going to ask you, with your brother being her coach, why was [there] the decision to not play qualifying?”
Cavaday talked about Raducanu and said: “I think viewing it as extra matches, she got some wins in Washington, pretty happy with the level. Body [is] feeling it a touch, trying to keep that managed. I mean, I think if she’d have had a wildcard into the main draw, she would have considered playing. I’m sure she considered playing in qualifying as well.
I’m not privy to the scheduling decisions I’m afraid.”Emma Raducanu in 2024
Currently the world no.72, the Brit played her last match on the 2nd of August when she was overcome by world no.37 Paula Badosa 4-6 7-5 6-4 in the quarter in Washington (draw).
Until now, during this year Emma has achieved a 18-11 match record. Emma Raducanu’s most significant achievement of this season was reaching the semifinal in Nottingham.
Emma Raducanu will play the world no.50 Viktoriya Tomova in the final. Their actual record is 1-0 for Tomova.
Emma Raducanu |
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