Sky Sports commentator Naomi Broady thinks Emma Raducanu made the wrong decision by playing at the Madrid Open.
2024 has been a tough season for the 21-year-old, who made her comeback from multiple surgeries in January.
In an attempt to manage her comeback, the Brit has carefully managed her schedule. After reaching the Stuttgart Open quarter-finals, Raducanu’s best result of the year, she opted to play in Madrid.
But upon reflection, Broady, 34, thinks the former US Open champion made a mistake by playing in the Spanish capital.
Sky Sports pundit disagrees with Emma Raducanu playing in Madrid
Raducanu began her clay court season by winning both of her rubbers in the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers in April. She then defeated Angelique Kerber and Linda Nosková to reach the last eight in Stuttgart, where she was knocked out by top seed Iga Swiatek.
She then suffered a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Argentina’s María Lourdes Carlé in the first round at Madrid’s Caja Magica, and has not played since.
In fact, the former British Number One has now withdrawn from the French Open qualifiers and Broady thinks she is using the time to rest and playing Madrid was the wrong call.
“For Emma it’s about managing her fitness, health and also not burning out,” she said on Sky Sports’ YouTube channel. “She’s coming back and you kind of get dragged into tennis into wanting to win ranking points.
“So playing week after week but when you’re winning a couple of matches and you’re on your way back you’ve not got that match fitness yet.
“She’s had the three surgeries as well so you can train all you want in practice but it just just doesn’t match the intensity in a match court so she’s just trying to slowly build back into it now. I think she maybe went a step too far with Madrid; she then didn’t play in Rome.”
What did Emma Raducanu say about withdrawing from the French Open qualifiers?
Raducanu released a statement confirming her decision to pull out of the French Open qualifiers.
“It’s important for me to keep laying on the foundations and I will use the time to do a healthy block before the grass and subsequent hard court seasons to give myself a chance to keep fit for the rest of the year,” she said.
The former World Number 10 is ranked 212th in the world four months after returning from wrist and ankle operations in 2023.
Following her opening round exit in Madrid, she told the press that she was feeling mentally and physically exhausted, which explains her decision to skip the French Open and prepare to play the grass court season on home soil.
“I would say the last few weeks have been a lot,” Raducanu explained. “I think from the performance today it was very clear that mentally and emotionally I was exhausted. I was trying to push through and I was just unable to push through today. I guess the sport is just pretty brutal.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
