Raducanu Feels Better Before French Open Start Against Sierra

Emma Raducanu is back at the French Open after a two-and-a-half-month absence, and she says she is feeling a lot better before facing Solana Sierra on Sunday. The British No 1 enters Paris unseeded after the illness break pushed her out of the top 32.

Raducanu Returns To Paris

“I feel a lot better,” Raducanu said before her opening match, adding that she had “just been a little bit of a lingering cough.” She also said she had “physically” pulled up really well after a match that lasted over two hours in Strasbourg this week, where she lost a close contest with Diane Parry.

That Strasbourg outing was only her second match since March, and it gave her one last check on her body before Roland Garros. Raducanu said, “I thought I’d completely flipped it. There’s just been a little bit of a lingering cough. But I feel, health-wise, really good. I played a really positive match in Strasbourg in the sense it was over two hours and physically I pulled up really well.”

Solana Sierra On Clay

The first round is not a soft landing. Sierra is ranked 64th and arrives after a surprise run to the fourth round of Wimbledon last year, while Raducanu heads in light on matches and without a seed beside her name. That combination leaves her facing a player who has already shown she can stretch beyond expectations at a major.

Raducanu called it “a really tricky first round,” and the draw has already changed the shape of her tournament. Dropping out of the top 32 removed the protection that comes with seeding, so her path starts with an opponent positioned just outside the top 50 and already proven on a big stage.

British Players In Paris

Raducanu is one of six British players in the main draws, alongside Cameron Norrie, Jacob Fearnley, Toby Samuel, Katie Boulter and Fran Jones. Norrie was also dealing with a rib injury and said he had not been able to hit since arriving in Paris, while Fearnley was carrying a rib problem of his own after winning seven matches all year.

For Raducanu, the immediate task is simpler and harder at the same time: start the French Open with enough aggression to handle Sierra’s clay-court comfort and her own reduced match load. She said, “I know I’m going to have to play really good tennis and be aggressive. The conditions are pretty lively in the practice days, as the weather is hot, but that could be a good thing.”