Emma Raducanu and the bumpy run at the Korea Open carries over to 2025. Although a little subdued this time around (at least for now). Exactly a year ago, aged 21, Raducanu was en route to make her second-ever WTA Tour semi-finals. She had to fight rain delays, an injury, and defeat two top-50 players to arrive a step closer to reliving her 2021 glory. However, with the opening exchanges of the quarterfinals, a foot injury forced retirement. Que flashes from the past. 

Two years prior, at the very same event, Raducanu had made it to her first semifinal of the 2022 season. She had kept the 2017 French Open champion in check, winning the opening set, 4-6, until an injury took her out in an intense battle. This week, Raducanu returned with a renewed hope to improve her rankings before the Australian Open next year. In the process, the 22-year-old also withdrew from the Great Britain team for this month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals. However, as fates would have it, Korea and Emma just don’t seem to be on good terms. 

Raducanu’s tennis comeback after the US Open became a tarry, thanks to the rain gods’ relentlessness. The WTA 500 event in Seoul has become an insignificant experience for players who were hoping to gain some valuable ranking points out of this tournament. For Emma, the disappointment initially came on Tuesday, when she was set to play her first round match against Romania’s Jacqueline Christian. However, due to waterlogged courts at the venue, the match was moved to Wednesday. It did not get better.

The sodden hard-court surface continued to remain so until September 17th afternoon. That meant no matches until 1:30 pm local time. SportsTV Portugal journalist, José Morgado, spoke for all when he said, “what a nightmare,” tweeting the schedule.

The new order of play moves Emma Raducanu vs Jacqueline Christian to 2:30 pm or later. However, the weather cannot be counted on. 

The encounter featuring Anastasia Zakharova and Sorana Cirstea today was stopped in the morning thanks to the heavy downpour in Seoul. A similar outcome was witnessed in the match between Diana Shnaider and Caty McNally. Not to mention the doubles encounter between the pairs of Barbora Krejcikova, Katerina Siniakova and Anna Blinkova, Makoto Ninomiya. It also remains suspended, as of this writing.

Four more days remain for the WTA event to wrap it up, leaving spectators wondering if a completion is still in the books. Weather havocs have previously washed out the likes of Miami and Auckland Open, and with Beijing starting next Wednesday, things are looking difficult in the Korean capital.

Clear skies, though, are the need of the hour for Raducanu who has been on a surge as of late. The 22-year-old has moved up from 60th in the rankings in January to 33rd by Korea Open.

Raducanu would credit her coach Francis Roig who brings with him immense technical knowledge and 18 years of experience working with Rafael Nadal. This coach-player duo has managed to bag three third-round appearances this season, and Raducanu sees nothing but positives.

She is returning healthy to Korea, has had a good momentum, and believes, she is starting to gain respect. If the skies do clear out, and she ends up winning the first round, the Brit will face 2024 Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. The latter beat Tatiana Prozorova in the R32 with a dominating score line of 6-1, 6-2. Raducanu has a case to make.

Emma Raducanu called out for her Korea Open preference over BJK Cup

After her US Open campaign failed to generate much buzz, following a third round exit, Emma Raducanu opted to return back to the court with a wildcard entry in Seoul. Initially she was expected to appear in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for Great Britain. However, the former top 10 star stunned everyone, including renowned television presenter Matt Roberts.

In an episode of the Tennis Podcast, Roberts didn’t mince words while reacting to Raducanu’s choice. “Raducanu’s was the one that was a real shame to me, I must say. I don’t want to be harsher on Radacanu than I am on other players. You know, I want to see all the players play Billie Jean King if possible.”

Per Roberts, it seems the young Brit chose a hefty appearance fee in Seoul over her national duties. “I just didn’t really understand why Raducanu is not playing, to be honest. I know she’s playing a tour event instead, and she will point to ranking points and, trying to get seeded for the Australian Open and all of that kind of thing, which I do understand, but I think there was also a pretty big appearance fee going her way to play that tour event in Korea as well.”

It will be intriguing to see how Raducanu’s stint at the Korea Open turns out. Right now, it seems the rain has posed a roadblock. Do you think she will be able to accomplish a deep run in Seoul this week? Let us know in the comments below.