Emma Raducanu’s marvellous run at the Queen’s Club Championships came to an end on Sunday.
Donna Vekic, a lucky loser, defeated Raducanu 6-0, 7-6 in the Andy Murray Arena to win her fifth career WTA title and her first since March 2023.
It was a disappointing result for Raducanu, who is still searching for a first WTA title since the 2021 US Open.
How far do you think Emma Raducanu will go at Wimbledon after watching her at Queen’s?
However, the British star can take great pride in her performances throughout the week.
Raducanu looked rejuvenated on the grass courts, comfortably beating the likes of Sorana Cirstea and Iva Jovic on her way to the Queen’s final.
Following her loss in West London, Raducanu had been scheduled to travel north for the Nottingham Open.
However, the Briton has now withdrawn from the event.
Emma Raducanu has made a smart decision by withdrawing from the Nottingham Open
Raducanu has made the correct decision by withdrawing from Nottingham.
Prior to her withdrawal, the British number one was set to play two events ahead of the Wimbledon Championships: Queen’s and Nottingham
Playing both events would have been completely unnecessary following her exploits in West London.
Raducanu has already gained significant WTA ranking points as a result of her final run at Queen’s. She has risen 11 spots to world number 31 and now looks likely to secure a seeded spot for Wimbledon.
Moreover, Raducanu was not defending any points at this year’s Nottingham Open.
Emma Raducanu’s Queen’s Club campaign
- First round: defeated Anna Blinkova 6-0, 6-3
- Second round: defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-2
- Quarter-finals: defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 7-5
- Semi-finals: defeated Iva Jovic 6-2, 6-2
- Final: lost to Donna Vekic, 6-0, 7-6
Of course, with no points to defend, one could view Raducanu’s withdrawal as a missed opportunity to cement her spot as a seeded player at Wimbledon.
However, with Victoria Mboko and Hailey Baptiste absent from this year’s Wimbledon due to injury, Raducanu is currently set to be seeded 29th at this year’s Championships.
Four players would need to overtake Raducanu in the rankings before next Monday for the British star to fall outside of the seeded spots at Wimbledon.
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?
This seems very unlikely to occur; and with the physical ailments Raducanu has suffered this year, taking some time away to rest and recuperate is the right move.
“Yeah, I mean, I have just been dealing with a few niggles over the past few weeks,” Raducanu admitted after qualifying for the Queen’s Club final.
“And of course the load I have had in the last week, it’s been a great problem to have, you know, playing this many matches. And doubling up yesterday, it’s not easy to kind of recover from.
“So, yeah, grass, these things can happen. You take a few slips. But I think overall I came through a challenging day yesterday. Yeah, I put myself in this position to be in the final.”
Who has replaced Emma Raducanu in Nottingham?
Raducanu initially received a difficult draw in Nottingham: she was projected to play Leylah Fernandez and Barbora Krejcikova during the early stages.
However, following the withdrawal of Iva Jovic, Raducanu was moved to the top half of the draw and was due to play former Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova.
Now that Raducanu has withdrawn, Czechia’s Sara Beljek – the 11th seed – has taken Raducanu’s spot and will play Pliskova later this week.
Pliskova and Beljek have never played each other before on the WTA Tour.
The winner of their first round match will play either Caty McNally or qualifier Antonia Ruzic in the second round.
