Dark clouds above Emma Raducanu’s recent resurgence? Emma Raducanu started the 2024 season outside the world’s top 300 after undergoing surgery on both her wrists and her left ankle in 2023. However, despite an injury-plagued season, she managed to finish her season inside the Top 60. So, her primary goal for the 2025 season was to play more matches than she did in the previous season. Raducanu hired fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura to help her “become one of the best athletes in tennis.” The 2021 US Open champion has already played more tournaments in the opening five months of this season than ever before. However, despite all these, her recent struggles with some health issues in her previous match against China’s Wang Xinyu had raised a few question marks ahead of her blockbuster clash against Iga Swiatek in the second round of the 2025 French Open. What happened to the Brit, exactly?

Well, just a few days ago, Emma Raducanu suffered a back spasm at a warm-up tournament in Strasbourg. Speaking about that injury in a previous interview with BBC Sport, she said, “It feels OK, it feels good, not 100% yet, but we’re working towards that. I still have a couple of days.” However, despite a bit of discomfort, Raducanu claimed that she feels ready to play against Xinyu in her first-round match at Roland Garros. Although she managed to beat the Chinese by 7-5,4-6,6-3, she was spotted seeking medical attention on the court towards the end of the first set.

Emma Raducanu had her blood pressure checked on the court during the medical timeout and she even left the court for a short while before the decider. Her body temperatures were also measured during this break, and Raducanu looked to be rubbing ice underneath her eyes. This was Raducanu’s longest match on clay as it took almost 2 hours and 44 minutes to decide the winner. However, despite a bit of trouble in the initial phases of this match, Raducanu has now secured her first win at the French Open since 2022. She pulled out of this tournament in 2023 due to a long-term injury absence, and last year she withdrew from the French Open, citing her priorities towards the grass swing.

What did she say after this match? “I don’t feel great, I was struggling from the start. I was flat but I’m happy to find a way.” This victory is a reflection of the resilience she has built over the last few months. Perhaps her reaching the QF of the Miami Open has reignited her hunger for bigger titles yet again. So, although her illness is a bit of a concern ahead of her match against Iga Swiatek, the Brit could well recover just in time to give her best against the four-time champion.

Raducanu currently trails Swiatek by 0-4, and this will be their second meeting this season. In the previous meeting (third round of 2025 AO), Swiatek defeated her by 6-1,6-0. What did both of these players say ahead of this epic battle? “I’m very happy to have given myself another chance in the draw. I felt the noise around the match [versus Swiatek] even before our first rounds, so I’m looking forward to going out there with not much pressure on me. I think my game is in a pretty good place, so it’s a good challenge,” said Emma Raducanu (41).

While the current world number 5, Iga Swiatek, who recently defeated Rebecca Sramkova in the first round by 6-3,6-3, also shared her thoughts on her second-round match. She said, “Everybody has a different path, you know, and different changes. But for sure, she’s (Emma Raducanu) a great player and has, you know, [a] great forehand. She can use her topspin pretty well. So we already played a couple of times, and we know each other’s game. For sure I will need to be intense and focus on myself. But for sure … She won the US Open. She can play great tennis, you know. I’ll be ready.” What are the experts saying about Raducanu’s chances at this year’s mega clay-court tournament?

Former British number one showcases her optimism surrounding Emma Raducanu at the French Open

Clay courts have never been among her favorites. But Emma Raducanu once claimed that she loves taking this challenge! This year, if we take a look at her performances on clay, she reached the second round in Madrid and then went down to America’s Coco Gauff in the R16 of the Italian Open by straight sets. Raducanu faced a similar fate in Strasbourg as well (R16 exit at the hands of another American, Danielle Collins).

Seeing her performances on clay, Laura Robson had previously stated, “I’m sure Emma would like to do well on clay and grass this year and play a full schedule. Clay is great for developing all areas of the game. Tactically, it’s a great surface to learn how to turn around matches when you are behind in slower conditions.” 

Then recently, just days before the French Open, in her latest Sky Sports column, Robson said, “I think Emma’s got a good chance against anyone. She’s playing great at the moment, has a lot of belief in what she’s doing on the court, and has some trust in who she’s with at the moment, in Petch [Mark Petchey] and Jane [O’Donoghue]. So, I can see things going well for her over the next few months.” Raducanu has a win-loss record of 12-10 this season. 

How optimistic are the other tennis experts about Emma Raducanu’s chances at the 2025 French Open? Well, according to the two-time runner-up at Roland Garros, Alex Corretja, “I like her so much, the way she plays, she’s so determined. She can play very well, she can move very well – so there’s no reason why she can’t play well on clay. But definitely, her expectations should be quite moderate, I would say because at the end of the day, you’re not playing and not winning that many matches.” After having already secured a victory in her first match, do you think Raducanu can topple the ‘Queen of Clay’ in her next match?