Emma Raducanu has been tipped to come into form ahead of the French Open. The Brit is gearing up for the second clay swing of her career and compatriot Laura Robson believes the 20-year-old “looks really good” ahead of her first clay event in Stuttgart.
Raducanu has been forced to play a reduced schedule so far this season after struggling with injuries and illness – first rolling her ankle at the ASB Classic in January. The British No 1 was later forced to pull out of her comeback tournament in Texas after catching tonsillitis but bounced back to have a career-best showing in Indian Wells.
Despite going on to lose her opening match in Miami, Robson believes she can keep improving in the clay swing. “Emma’s level is there for sure,” the former world No 27 told Eurosport.
“She hits the ball just as well as any of the top players on tour. But it’s just finding the right balance on the training side of things, on the match court and tournament schedule side of things to make it work for the body because everyone is different, everyone requires different amount of matches as well.”
The 29-year-old also thought that Raducanu would benefit from some more weeks like Indian Wells, where she won back-to-back matches for the first time since September. Robson continued: “I think if she’s just able to get another couple of consistent weeks under her belt, then the belief will come and you start to trust your body a bit more and you start to then not worry about some small injuries because it’s just part of being a tennis player.”
Rubbishing any injury fears surrounding Raducanu, she added: “I can’t think of anyone on tour who ever feels 100 per cent healthy all the time, so Emma’s just seeming to find that balance at the moment. She’s been on a practice court in the UK at Wimbledon and looks good, she looks really good.”
And the retired British pro backed the former world No 10 to put up a strong showing on the clay, having reached the Stuttgart quarter-final last year. “I actually think she’s pretty good on clay anyway,” Robson claimed.
“Last year she went into the season thinking ‘it’s just going to be a bit of a learning experience for me’. You could tell that she was trying new things on the clay court, trying to add a little bit more spin to her forehand side.”
Robson also referenced Raducanu’s run to the last-16 in Madrid, admitting the altitude was better for the 20-year-old’s game. “But she played well in Madrid, she won a couple of matches there, she had some good result and you feel like maybe that’s the kind of court that’s going to suit her game the most,” she said.
“Something that’s a little bit faster and takes on the pace slightly more than the heavy conditions that you can get in Rome and in some of the lead up tournaments to Paris. I think with the way that she hits the ball, she can almost hit through the conditions if needed. It just has to keep going after her shots, which I know she’s been working on at the moment.”
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