Emma Raducanu has been handed a tough draw at the Mutua Madrid Open, leaving her with a huge challenge to avoid dropping more ranking points. However, it seems like the pressure may already be getting to the young tennis star, as she showed worrying signs of strain during the pre-tournament press conference.
The 20-year-old Raducanu, usually talkative and engaging in dealings with the media, surprised everyone by being uncooperative and offering a combined tally of just 58 words to 16 questions. That means that the Brit, whose ranking has dropped 17 positions to No.85 this week, averaged just 3.6 words per answer.
The 2021 US Open champion, responding to topics ranging from her chronic wrist trouble to the recent good form of her compatriot Jodie Burrage, provided extremely short answers that didn’t allow media members to get the conversation going. Typical of Raducanu’s responses were “Yeah,” “Yeah, of course,” “Yeah, I like her,” and “Yeah, good player.”
In the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open, Raducanu faces world No. 73 Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria, while world No.1 Iga Swiatek, who has just defended her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title, lurks in the second round. Commenting on the tough draw, Raducanu was again uncommunicative: “It is what it is.”
After less than three minutes, the awkward press conference was cut short by a WTA official who said: “I think let’s just leave it there.”
Last year in Madrid, Raducanu was ranked No.11 and reached the round of 16. Now the situation is such that she may easily fall out of the Top 100 following the clay-court tournament in the Spanish capital and a ranking in the triple digits could potentially have an impact on her sponsorship deals.
UPDATE: Shortly before her first-round match at the Mutua Madrid Open, Raducanu withdrew from the tournament, citing a right hand injury. This means that she will most definitely fall out of the Top 100. (source: Telegraph, photo: Jimmie48)
