Emma Raducanu withdraws from French Open qualifying as deadline looms

Raducanu has not played since a disappointing first-round exit at the Madrid Open last month

Emma Raducanu looks set to miss out on the clay Grand Slam (AP)

Emma Raducanu looks set to miss out on the French Open after withdrawing from next week’s qualifying event.

Raducanu, who famously came through qualifying to win the US Open in 2021, was not handed a wildcard into the main draw and has not yet given a reason for her withdrawal from qualifying.

The 21-year-old remains a third alternate for the tournament and could still secure a place at Rolland Garros if three more players pull out of the main draw. However, the chances of that are slim and would need to happen before the start of qualifying at 9am on Monday.

The World No. 221 has been seen practising on hard courts instead of clay courts at the National Tennis Centre in recent days, suggesting that the Brit is already turning her focus towards the grass court season and Wimbledon.

Raducanu is continuing her comeback from long-term injury problems (Getty Images for ITF)

Raducanu had made an encouraging start to the clay swing, winning both her matches for Great Britain as they upset France in the Billie Jean King Cup. The following week, she reached the quarter-final of the Stuttgart Open before falling to a quarter-final exit against World No.1 Iga Swiatek.

However, the 21-year-old has not played since a surprise defeat to Maria Lourdes Carle in the first round of the Madrid Open last month. After the straight-set defeat, Raducana admitted that she felt “mentally and emotionally exhausted” following a gruelling run of matches.

The French Open begins on Sunday 26 May.