Emma Raducanu is heading to this year’s Roland Garros sorely lacking preparation.
However, that is through no fault of her own.
The Brit has been forced to watch from the sidelines for the last couple of months, having suffered from a virus that not only forced her out of a handful of events, but also left her needing to build back up before returning to action.
She intended to make her return in Rome, but deemed it too soon, and in the end settled on Strasbourg as the place to make her comeback.
Since losing in the first round, marking what will be her only clay-court match before Roland Garros, Laura Robson had some advice for Emma Raducanu.
Laura Robson’s advice for Emma Raducanu
Speaking with Tennis365, the pundit was keen to outline exactly what she felt was missing from the 22-year-old’s game.
Using Aryna Sabalenka as both an example and someone to aspire towards, Robson claimed: “I think everyone needs the variety in their game.
What did you make of Emma Raducanu’s first performance back on clay?
Her first match in 72 days…
“A player like Aryna Sabalenka is obviously a big hitter, but she can still throw in the odd slice and drop shots. She’s still trying to come forward and do new things, and that’s the world number one.
“I mean, because everyone hits the ball big, so you kind of have to be able to do everything. It’s not like you can just get away with crunching the ball and expect to win.
“So I feel like adding the power almost back to her game would be a good thing because it does feel like she lost her identity a little bit.
“But she also has to make sure that she doesn’t lose the ability to do other things out there as well because even the biggest hitters are adding some finesse and they all move so well these days.”
Despite her loss to Diane Parry in the first round at Strasbourg, Raducanu should not worry, even with the second Grand Slam of the season just around the corner.
Looking ahead to Roland Garros, Robson’s hopes were minimal, as she added: “I just hope she can get back on the court quickly and can put a few matches together back-to-back.
“However Roland Garros goes for her, I just hope she can spend some time on court because the grass court season is coming and she needs to play as many matches as possible this summer.”
Emma Raducanu speaks after losing her first match in two months
Raducanu spoke to the media after that loss to Parry, who was in fine form ahead of their match.
After all, it was initially meant to be played on the Monday earlier this week, but had to be pushed back to Tuesday as she was playing in a final on the Sunday.
The 2021 US Open champion acknowledged this in her post-match assessment, offering a measured outlook having lost in straight sets but across two hours and 22 minutes.
Do you think Emma Raducanu has made a good decision with this hire?
Could you see her winning another Grand Slam title alongside Andrew Richardson?
Raducanu stated: “Diane came in with a lot of confidence from her win last week and played some really good tennis. I think I played well in moments but, yeah, it’s been a long break since I’ve played a competitive match.
“It’s gonna take a little bit of time before I find my groove on the match court,” she said. “I’m proud with how I fought and competed throughout the whole match. I’m feeling as though I’m just trying to take care of each day as best as I possibly can.”
