Emma Raducanu is Britain’s biggest tennis star who will not be competing at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.
Team GB are bringing a stacked roster to Roland-Garros headlined by Andy Murray but the 2021 US Open champion was a major absentee.
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Raducanu is enjoying a career renaissance after struggles with fitness and form having recently reached the fourth round of Wimbledon.
However, she rejected the chance to feature in her first Olympics, with Katie Boulter the only representative in the women’s singles.
Why isn’t Raducanu playing at the Olympics?
The 21-year-old opted to miss the Paris Games to avoid risking further injury problems due to the surface on Roland-Garros courts.
Raducanu had a miserable 2023, with injuries limiting her to just nine matches all year after double wrist surgery and an ankle operation.
Her lack of court action saw her drop to 298 in the world rankings which has meant she has to rely on wildcard entries this year.
Raducanu was offered a route to the Olympic tennis tournament by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), who reserve two spots for former Grand Slam champions – but turned down the opportunity.
She missed the French Open – which uses the same clay courts that will stage Olympic tennis – to be fit for the British grass-court season.
Having featured at Wimbledon, Raducanu will already need to adapt to the US Open’s hard courts in August and doesn’t want to put her body through switching to a third surface in between.
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The three major types of court surfaces
Clay courts: Slowest, high bounce
Suits baseline players like Rafael Nadal, and drop-shot players like Carlos Alcaraz
Grass courts: Fastest, low bounce
Suits specialised servers like Roger Federer and Pete Sampras and players that prefer flat shots over spin like Andy Murray
Hard courts: Medium speed, highest bounce
Suits all-rounders like Novak Djokovic
“I’m very single-minded and I do things my own way and in my own time whenever I want,” said the world No.94.
“So not in a diva way, [I’m] just prioritising my body and my health because I know if I’m fit, I know if I’m giving my 100 percent, I know great things are happening and coming.
“I just don’t think there’s any need to put additional stress on my body or any risk, especially with my history.”
Wimbledon’s surface is the polar opposite of Roland Garros’ clay, with the grass the fastest of the three court types but clay is the slowest.
The hard courts, which are used at the US Open and Australian Open, is the middle ground and the most common surface on the ATP tour.
Iain Bates, the head of GB’s Olympic tennis team, said given Raducanu’s injury issues he was ‘very comfortable’ with her decision.
“Everyone’s aware of her history and the double wrist surgery from last year,” he added.
“That [change of surface] places a greater stress on her.”
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