Emma Raducanu has done well to shift the narrative on her career in the last year, transitioning from an injury-prone star hopping from tournament to tournament into a genuine threat on the WTA.
Nobody would want to see this precocious youngster in their area of any draw, as on her day she can challenge the very best.
However, frustratingly for Emma Raducanu, a longstanding back issue has reared its ugly head once again, thwarting her recent run in Strasbourg just as it did in Australia earlier this year.
The world number 43 has worked too hard to see the narrative shift back again, and so she will head to Paris full of confidence after a solid clay-court season but also with some wariness over her actual fitness levels.
Emma Raducanu provides fresh injury update ahead of Roland Garros
Speaking to The Telegraph ahead of her upcoming French Open campaign, which gets underway on Monday, the 22-year-old had plenty to say about her injury struggles.
After all, they have dominated her career pretty much since she shot to stardom in 2021, winning the US Open in dramatic and unprecedented fashion.
Naturally, she will harbour some frustration about the way in which she was treated during that period, but Raducanu has now sought to absorb some of the blame herself.
She claimed: ‘We always push on through because there’s no real breaks in the season. So it does kind of hurt us sometimes because we’ll probably do some more damage.
‘I know from personal experience with my wrists, I was struggling for seven months with them before I ended up having surgery. I just kept pushing through because people were telling me I wasn’t tough enough. When in reality I knew there was pain, and I knew it felt like more than just soreness.
‘So I wish I would have listened to myself sooner. I would have saved myself maybe like eight months, 12 months of struggling. But I guess I can learn from that. Now I am a little bit more astute when it comes to what pain is manageable and what pain should be taken more seriously.’
Emma Raducanu’s run to the Roland Garros final
No matter how unlikely, it’s still interesting to see who Raducanu would have to face if she were to enjoy another fairytale run to a Grand Slam final.
As noted earlier, her first round match will take place this Monday against the Chinese starlet Wang Xinyu. Then, should the Brit win, defending champion Iga Swiatek is expected to be waiting for her.
Emma Raducanu’s projected run to the Roland Garros final
| Round 1 | Wang Xinyu |
| Round 2 | Iga Swiatek |
| Round 3 | Marta Kostyuk |
| Round 4 | Elena Rybakina/Jelena Ostapenko |
| Quarter-finals | Jasmine Paolini/Elina Svitolina |
| Semi-finals | Qinwen Zheng/Aryna Sabalenka |
| Final | Coco Gauff/Mirra Andreeva/Jessica Pegula |
If she is to make it to the third round, Raducanu has already done something remarkable, but there Marta Kostyuk is expected before things really ramp up.
Based on seeding, one of Jelena Ostapenko or Elena Rybakina should be in the fourth, with last year’s finalist Jasmine Paolini sure to make the quarter-finals after just winning the title in Rome. Then, Aryna Sabalenka will be looming in the semi-finals.
Certainly on the harder side of the tournament, Raducanu’s Roland Garros draw has not been kind. But, if she is not to win the whole thing, a scalp against Swiatek at least would give her the world of confidence.
