Emma Raducanu is hopeful her health issues are behind her as she prepares for her opening match at the French Open. The British number one takes on Argentina’s Solana Sierra in the first round on Sunday in what will be just her second match since March following two-and-a-half months out with a post-viral illness.
She lost a close contest with Diane Parry in her opening match in Strasbourg this week but feeling healthy again is the most important thing for the 23-year-old.
“I feel a lot better,” she said. “I thought I’d completely flipped it. I think there’s just been a little bit of a lingering cough recently. But I feel health-wise really good.
“I played a really positive match last week in Strasbourg in the sense it was over two hours, and I think physically I pulled up really well from it. So I’m happy to take that and build from it.”
Raducanu’s absence meant she dropped out of the top 32 and is therefore unseeded in Paris. She avoided the big names but 21-year-old Sierra, who is ranked 64th, is very at home on clay, while she made a surprise run to the fourth round of Wimbledon last year.
Raducanu said: “She’s a great player. It’s going to be a really tricky first round, especially coming in light on matches, but I’m just proud of how I’m approaching every day, proud of the work I’m putting in.
“I know I’m going to have to play really good tennis and be aggressive. I feel like the conditions are pretty lively so far in the practice days, as the weather is hot, but I think that could be a good thing. I just want to go out there and try and play on my terms as much as I can.”
With Jack Draper sidelined through injury, Cameron Norrie appeared to be the best hope of a deep British run but the 20th seed revealed he is struggling with a rib injury. “I haven’t been able to hit yet since I’ve arrived here, so just been enjoying Paris and resting,” he said.
“But I think I needed the rest, so maybe it’s a good thing. I really know that I’m feeling the ball well. Luckily I’m scheduled on Tuesday, so I have some time to recover. Hopefully I can be good to play.”
Norrie, who takes on Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo first up, admitted he may have over-trained, including playing a five-set training match against American Ben Shelton lasting nearly five hours.
There are six British players in the main draws, with Norrie joined in the men’s singles by Jacob Fearnley and qualifier Toby Samuel. Fearnley has also been battling a rib problem this season and has struggled to back up his stellar first season on tour, winning just seven matches all year.
He has the carrot of a second-round clash with world number one Jannik Sinner if he can see off Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The 24-year-old, who has started working with Andy Murray’s former fitness trainer Matt Little, said: “I did go up the rankings pretty fast and maybe just didn’t have the time to really reflect on it and appreciate it for what it was.
“And maybe got a little bit too far ahead of myself. Life in general, there’s ups and downs, and just on a little bit of a down right now, but no reason why I can’t get back up.”
Samuel faces eighth seed Alex De Minaur in his first grand slam appearance while, in the women’s draw, Katie Boulter plays wild card Akasha Urhobo and Fran Jones meets Beatriz Haddad Maia.
