Emma Raducanu has added another clay court tournament to her schedule ahead of the French Open and she will have her sights set on a significant rankings breakthrough when the Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament that gets underway on Monday.
Raducanu was reluctant to play in clay court tournaments last year and even decided to pull out of qualifying for the French Open as she prioritised preparing for grass court events in her British homeland.
Her stance has changed in 2025 and after some impressive wins at the Madrid Open and Italian Open, Raducanu has accepted a wildcard into the WTA 500 tournament in Strasbourg.
The 2021 US Open champion will join a strong field in Strasbourg, with Ekaterina Alexandrova is the highest-ranked player to enter the draw in and former world No 2 Paula Badosa is also on the entry list in Strasbourg, but she is also an injury doubt after pulling out of recent events.
World No 35 Danielle Collins has entered to play in Strasbourg and she will be a player to watch after her impressive win against Iga Swiatek at the Italian Open.
Raducanu could also face Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, in what would be a repeat of the 2021 US Open final that was won by the Brit.
She will fancy her chances of making progress and if she can pick up more momentum in Strasbourg, she could head into the French Open as the British No 1 once again.
Raducanu is just four places behind compatriot Katie Boulter in the live rankings and her decision to enter a WTA 125 event in Paris this week has strengthened her grip on the British No 1 ranking.
Boulter lost her opening match at the Italian Open and decided to play in Paris to get some extra match practice on clay, with wins against Erika Andreeva and Daria Saville boosting her confidence ahead of an appearance at Roland Garros.
Raducanu will get a gauge on how many wins she needs in Strasbourg to take over as British No 1 when Boulter finishes her campaign in Paris, but it looks like a run to the semi-finals at the very least will be needed.
That may seem realistic for a player who is starting to relish the challenge of playing on clay courts, as she confirmed after a defeat against Coco Gauff at the Italian Open.
“I would love to just keep improving, keep playing. I think that’s a positive for me,” said Raducanu.
“I don’t want to go and hide in a hole somewhere, I want to get back out there, so that’s good.
“We’ll see how it goes in the next week before the French, if I get into Strasbourg. But, for now, I’ve played a good 12 days on the trot, so I’m looking forward to a day off or so and then getting back to it.”
Former British No 1 Tim Henman has hinted that All England Club seeding may be in Raducanu’s sights, as she appears to be embracing the challenge of improving her game on clay courts.
“When you reflect on Emma Raducanu’s clay court season so far, I think it’s incredibly positive,” Henman told Sky Sports Tennis.
“The clay courts at Roland Garros are the truest and best clay courts. They are the ones where you can take the ball early.
