Emma Raducanu had a good run at the HSBC Championships, getting to the final before losing in straight sets to Donna Vekic. The Brit is in good form ahead of Wimbledon at the end of the month, but she will need a break before the grass-court major.
The problem was that she was scheduled for two events between Queen's Club and Wimbledon, and those were the Nottingham Open first, followed by Eastbourne. Raducanu was likely to withdraw from at least one due to her deep run in London, but she decided on Nottingham and not Eastbourne.
To be fair, the Brit did have a bit of a leg injury at Queen's Club, but most players have some kind of issue by June. The tennis season is long, and nagging health issues pop up. A player normally tries to push through and rest when they can.
Emma Raducanu chooses the wrong tournament to pull out of ahead of Wimbledon
For Raducanu, she may have decided to rest during Nottingham, but a wiser move would have been to play the first tournament and not play the week before Wimbledon. That way, she would be better rested for the major. Trying to play Eastbourne, hoping, one assumes, for another deep run in the event like at the HSBC Championships, and then Wimbledon doesn't make much sense.
For the more important tournament of the three, Emma Raducanu could conceivably have less rest than any except Nottingham. Still, had she even made the final of Nottingham, she could have withdrawn from Eastbourne. The decision not to reverse which tournament she skips could affect her once the grass-court major gets underway.
A healthy and in-form Raducanu is something the sport hasn't seen much of in recent years. She is still only 23 years old and has a good enough serve and groundstrokes to make inroads at most events. She's also popular off the court, and her presence in the finals of important tournaments would be good for tennis.
She also has shown a penchant to make the wrong decisions in her career, however, such as choosing to withdraw from mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2024, a match which would have likely been the last match British icon Andy Murray played at the event.
The run to the final at the HSBC Championships might have been a surprise, too. In her previous five tournaments, she had a record of 1-5. Raducanu still proved in London that she is capable of excellence. That form just doesn't seem to be able to be sustained for long.
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