The last few months have been very tough for Emma Raducanu. She has been out of action since the Indian Wells Open due to a viral illness that she had picked up in February during the Middle-East swing. This led to a big delay in the commencement of her clay-court season. However, the British No. 1 is now finally ready to make her much-awaited return and will be in action at the Rome Masters. However, Raducanu is set to face a monumental challenge in the tournament.

The 23-year-old has been provided with an incredibly grueling draw at the Italian Open. She could face tough opponents in the first few rounds itself. Her long absence from the tour has seen her ranking drop down to No. 30. But that rank is still good enough to earn her a bye from the first round. Raducanu will be taking on either a qualifier or Maria Sakkari in the second round. If she makes it through here, then her potential opponents in the third round can be Alexandra Eala, Magdalena Frech or Xinyu Wang.

Getting past the third round can be a difficult task for Raducanu as she comes into the Rome Masters with no match practice on clay. But a win in this round would see her qualify for the R16, the same stage where she was handed a 6-1, 6-2 defeat by Coco Gauff last year. However, things will keep getting harder from here.

Raducanu can be potentially drawn against Marta Kostyuk, who had clinched the title at the Madrid Open just days before. She could also face either former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova or World No. 14 Ekaterina Alexandrova. A positive result here would make this Raducanu’s best campaign at the Rome Masters as she has previously never gotten past the fourth round.

The likes of Hailey Baptiste, Madison Keys, Elina Svitolina or Victoria Mboko could turn out to be Raducanu’s opponents in the quarterfinals. All of them are formidable players, who could go on to get the better of the Brit and knock her out of the tournament.

If she manages to advance to the next round, Raducanu could potentially face Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Naomi Osaka or Karolina Muchova in the semis. All of these players boast a higher ranking than Raducanu and it won’t be a big surprise if they went on to defeat her.

If the 23-year-old gets past the last 4, she will qualify for her second final of the season. She had previously played the final of the Transylvania Open in February, but had been defeated by Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-2.

Notably, Raducanu could potentially be up against the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Amanda Anisimova or Belinda Bencic in the final of the Rome Masters. The Brit would definitely be considered the underdog heading into a match against any of these players and will have to put in a colossal effort in order to claim victory.

Though there aren’t a lot of expectations from Raducanu coming into the Rome Masters, she has looked strong on the surface during her practice sessions. She has even got the vote of confidence from a tennis great.

Emma Raducanu gets the backing of former British No. 1 ahead of Italian Open

Greg Rusedski, who is set to begin his coaching stint with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in Rome, was impressed with Raducanu’s shots and remarked she was pretty “aggressive” on the court.

“I had my session this morning with Joe on the outside practice courts and right in front of me, before I walk into the center court, see Lilli Tagger was practicing with Emma Raducanu. Jane O’Donoghue was there coaching her as well. So good to see she was playing pretty aggressive, taking the forehand on,” he said on his podcast, ‘Off Court With Greg Rusedski’.

Rusedski is optimistic about Raducanu’s chances in Rome and feels that she can gain her momentum back if she ends up performing well in the tournament.

“Emma looked like she’s striking it well, so fingers crossed this is the start of getting her momentum back because let’s not forget, she hasn’t played a match since Indian Wells. Conditions are fast or quick, and she looked good in the practice session. So, you know, for all those Raducanu fans out there, this is a good week to start. Hopefully she’s healthy, can push through and get some wins this week,” he added.

Will Raducanu go on to bring a major improvement to her win-loss record of 7-7 this season and make a deep run at the Italian Open, or will she bow out in the first few rounds? Drop your predictions in the comments!