Raducanu is enjoying the clay play as France gets ready for Great Britain in the BJK Cup.
Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter are leading Great Britain in a tough Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against France, and Emma says she is enjoying the challenge of changing her game to perform on clay.
Raducanu remarked, I’m enjoying the challenge of it. And I believe it’s fantastic that we can play the French, who are so strong, in this situation.And we are undoubtedly the underdogs going into Clay. However, we are prepared to play this weekend and have a ton of games.
Boulter and Raducanu were selected as Great Britain’s singles players for the Thursday draw against a formidable French squad that included the 21-year-old Diane Parry and the seasoned world No. 23 Caroline Garcia.
Le Portel, a tiny port town 30 minutes down the coast from Calais, is where they will play on indoor clay. The BBC website will air the tie, and the winner will advance to the BJK Cup Finals.
Their lack of experience with clay presents Raducanu and Boulter with their greatest challenge. Despite having the finest year of her career and peaking at world No. 27, Boulter has only participated in five clay tournaments as a 28-year-old. She says that her lack of experience is a reflection of her health problems.
I have no personal vendetta against clay, Boulter said. Nevertheless, in the past, the timing hasn’t always worked out. For example, I suffered injuries to my foot and back during the clay-court season.Because I’ve had trouble with injury in the past, I believe that I’ve tried to keep things really basic and not change surfaces too much.
I have therefore made a great effort to abstain from it. But once more, I’ve been playing for the past week and I’ve been having a blast.Raducanu was in a similar situation two years ago. Her first Billie Jean King Cup match, against the Czech Republic, was her first senior match on clay despite winning a grand slam title.
Raducanu’s opportunity to obtain additional surface experience was lost due to operations on his wrist and foot last year.Raducanu stated, I think that surface will actually really fit me in the future. Maybe I’m a little bit away from that right now, but I’m enjoying it.
Raducanu had a good week at Indian Wells last month, but a lower back problem kept him out of the Miami Open.The 21-year-old claims that she bounced back to training swiftly and that her first two weeks on the clay had gone well.
Boulter and Raducanu are both hoping that this tie will be the opening of what may be a long clay court season. The Olympics are scheduled to take place at Roland Garros at the end of July following Wimbledon.
Boulter is already guaranteed a spot in Paris thanks to her breakthrough year, which started at the start of the Olympic ranking period: Since I was a little child, I have always desired to participate in and play in the Olympics. That is therefore a top priority for me. If I can, I’ll be playing, she declared.
Raducanu, however, will probably have to rely on the two quota spots open to Olympic gold medallists and previous grand slam winners who are ranked in the top 400.
Competition for those quota spots could be tough because Bianca Andreescu, Naomi Osaka, and Caroline Wozniacki are also currently outside the top 100 and are trying to qualify on merit.
