Emma Raducanu faced an injury while leaving the court during her match at the Strasbourg opening before the French Open. The 22-year-old had to call for medical treatment for back issues after struggling in the second set against American Daniel Collins. Although she had initially won the first set, Raducanu found herself down 5-0, prompting a medical timeout. After about ten minutes off the court, she returned to finish the match but ultimately lost with scores of 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
As the French Open approaches this Sunday, Raducanu plans to further assess her injury before heading to Paris. The way she battled through a tense final set might suggest that her issue isn’t too severe. Her participation in this warm-up tournament was a bit unusual given her busy schedule with Grand Slams.
Starting off strong, Raducanu, currently Britain’s No. 2 ranked player, won the first set against the World No. 46. However, Collins quickly took the second set, raising concerns that Raducanu might falter in the deciding set. To her credit, she fought back and even led 3-1 at one point but couldn’t convert on four breakpoints. Both players exchanged breaks, and the set eventually became tightly contested at 3-3, but Collins pulled away to win the last three games as Raducanu stumbled.
In need of more match play, Raducanu has added another tournament to her schedule, participating in the Berlin Tennis Open after receiving a wildcard. The former US Open champion will start her campaign in Berlin from June 16-22, right after the warm-up event at Queen’s Club next month.
This means she’ll miss the Nottingham Open, which is happening that same week, but the Berlin tournament offers more ranking points and prize money since it’s a higher-tier event on the WTA Tour. Raducanu is set to face tough competition in Berlin, where nine of the top ten players will be competing, including World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
On the ATP Tour, Novak Djokovic secured his first clay victory of the season at the Rainy Geneva Open, defeating Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 6-3 in the second round. “It’s nice to break the ice with my first win on clay this season. It’s a tough surface,” Djokovic commented post-match.
He efficiently landed 73% of his first serves and clinched the match with a backhand winner on his second match point, emphasizing that a strong serve is crucial. Despite suffering two losses on clay previously, his upcoming opponent in the final warm-up event for the French Open will be Matteo Arnaldi, who recently advanced past Fabian Marozsan with a score of 6-3, 7-6 (3). Notably, Arnaldi had defeated Djokovic in straight sets at the Madrid Masters earlier this season.
