The Cincinnati Open organizers have unveiled their wildcard entries for this year’s tournament, and Emma Raducanu’s absence from the list has raised concerns about her preparation for the upcoming US Open.
The Cincinnati Open, a prestigious WTA 1000 event, features 56 players. The top 41 players based on the WTA Rankings, which are dated two weeks prior, receive automatic entry. Additionally, four players are granted wildcards, eight advance through qualifying, and one can earn a special exemption into the main draw.
Raducanu, who had previously missed the Canadian Open qualifiers and was also not awarded a wildcard for Toronto due to her ranking, was anticipated to receive a wildcard for Cincinnati. Instead, the wildcards were awarded to former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, and American players Caroline Dolehide and Peyton Stearns.
As a result, Raducanu will need to go through the qualifying rounds to secure a place in the main draw of this important North American event. The qualifying draw has not yet been released, but given Raducanu’s preference to avoid qualifiers since her breakout win at the 2021 US Open, it is uncertain whether she will enter.
The British player chose to skip the Paris Olympics to focus on improving her ranking during the hard-court season. Her decision appears to have paid off, as she reached the quarter-finals at the Washington Open last week, which helped her climb to No. 69 in the WTA Rankings. This ranking should secure her a spot in the main draw of the US Open, which features 128 players.
Before the Washington event, Raducanu expressed satisfaction with her progress, noting that she had achieved her goal of securing a spot in the major tournaments. “I started the grass season ranked outside the top 200 and ended it in the top 100. For me, that was a significant achievement. It ensured my place in the US Open main draw, which was a major goal for me,” she stated.
However, if Raducanu does not participate in Cincinnati, she will have limited match experience leading up to the US Open, having played only three matches in Washington, DC. The Cincinnati Open is the last major tournament before the US Open, but there are two other events the week before the Grand Slam: the WTA 500 Monterrey Open in Mexico and the WTA 250 Tennis in the Land in Cleveland. While top players often skip these events to prepare in New York, Raducanu’s current lack of match play might lead her to consider competing in one of them.
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