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Emma Raducanu suffered a major injury scare just days out from the French Open after taking a medical timeout in her three-set loss to Danielle Collins at the Strasbourg International.

In a pulsating contest, world No 46 Collins rallied from a set down to beat Raducanu 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 at the WTA 500 event.

It is just a second quarter-final of 2025 for the American, who has struggled at times across 2025.

“I knew playing Emma that I would have to play my aggressive game style,” said Collins on court.

“The more that I did that, I think that I was able to kind of stay in control of the points and really push her. She played really and gave me some challenges – but I just kept going after it.”

Things started brightly for world No 43 Raducanu, who produced some superb tennis on her way to winning an impressive opening set.

However, while Collins improved notably after a shaky start, the Brit’s form faded badly and she ultimately called for the trainer.

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Raducanu took an off-court medical time out for a back injury at 5-0 down in set two, though returned to court and managed to hold before Collins forced a decider.

The pair traded early breaks across a tense deciding set, though the US star ultimately broke in Raducanu’s final two service games to triumph.

Raducanu struggled with a back injury at the start of 2025, withdrawing from the Auckland Open ahead of the Australian Open.

The 22-year-old will hope that the problem is nothing too serious ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year at the French Open, which begins this coming Sunday.

Raducanu has not played at Roland Garros since 2022, withdrawing due to injury in 2023 and due to scheduling concerns in 2024.

Defeat for the Brit also means she has missed the chance to potentially return to the top 40 of the WTA Rankings post-event.

Raducanu is currently ranked 43rd in the world but is up to world No 41 in the WTA Live Rankings, following her opening-round win over Daria Kasatkina.

Victory against Collins would not have seen the 22-year-old rise any further up the rankings but, had she won, she would have then been just one victory away from a top-40 return.

However, while there was disappointment for the Brit, Collins now has the chance to avoid a significant drop.

A challenging season for Collins has seen the 31-year-old fall down to world No 46 in the WTA Rankings, having failed to defending her Miami Open and Charleston Open titles earlier this spring.

Having started 2025 as the world No 11, Collins was potentially set to fall outside of the top 60 in Strasbourg, with finalist points to defend at the tournament.

The American is currently projected to fall 13 spots to world No 59 ahead of her quarter-final at the tournament.

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The post Emma Raducanu suffers injury scare as she misses rankings chance with Strasbourg exit appeared first on Tennis365.

The French Open draw takes place this Thursday (22nd May), but what can we expect to unfold at Roland Garros?

Here, we look at five of the biggest talking points across both the men’s and women’s singles events.

Which half will Zverev land in?

With Jannik Sinner as the No 1 seed and Carlos Alcaraz as the No 2 seed, we know that that it will not be possible for them to meet until the final – if they both get that far.

In terms of the very top seeds in the men’s draw, the biggest talking point is probably what half of the draw No 3 seed Alexander Zverev will land in.

The German has reached four straight semi-finals at Roland Garros and reached the final twelve months ago, leading Alcaraz by two sets to one before the Spaniard roared back.

Zverev is one of a handful of players with winning head-to-head records against both men, and could prove a formidable foe for one of the top two seeds in the last four.

Swiatek’s fate

Swiatek has been one of the top two seeds at every Grand Slam event since the 2022 French Open – but that all changes in 2025.

The Pole has not won a title since Roland Garros twelve months ago and, as a result, now finds herself as the world No 5 – and the fifth seed for the second Grand Slam of 2025.

That means that four-time French Open champion Swiatek will find herself in the same quarter as one of No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No 2 Coco Gauff, No 3 Jessica Pegula, or No 4 Jasmine Paolini.

Where the three-time champion lands in the draw could have not only significant implications for her, but the leading contenders and entire tournament as a whole.

Djokovic’s placing

Similarly to Swiatek, world No 6 Djokovic finds himself outside the top four seeds heading into the men’s singles draw.

This is not a new situation for the Serbian, who was the seventh seed at the Australian Open back in January, and ultimately defeated third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the last eight.

However, aside from his Miami Open run, Djokovic’s form since Melbourne has not been encouraging, and a quarter-final against one of Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev, or fourth seed Taylor Fritz is a daunting prospect.

Djokovic has a 10-0 record against Fritz, meaning this may be his best hope, but a match against one of the top three could spell trouble.

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Sabalenka’s pathway

For the first time in her career, Sabalenka arguably enters the French Open as the favourite for the title.

With leading rival Swiatek not at her best in 2025, the Belarusian has proven to be the class of the WTA field and has built a substantial lead as the world No 1.

Sabalenka has reached at least the quarter-final in Paris for the past two years and has become the most reliable WTA player at Grand Slams, consistently going deep into the draw.

However, she is yet to reach a Grand Slam singles final on a natural surface, with her five finals split across the Australian and US Open.

All eyes will be on whether Sabalenka’s early path is conducive enough for her to round into form and claim the title.

Dangerous unseeded stars

Most of the sport’s leading stars are among the men’s and women’s singles top seeds, though that is not strictly the case.

Several huge names are unseeded in the women’s event, and all eyes will be on where the likes of Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, and Belinda Bencic land in the draw.

Perhaps the biggest unseeded name to watch in the men’s event is Joao Fonseca, with the 18-year-old prodigy having qualified automatically for a Slam for the first time.

Fellow young gun Learner Tien and clay specialists such as Rio Open Sebastian Baez will be among the other unseeded stars to keep one eye on in the draw.

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The post Could Djokovic face Alcaraz or Sinner? How will Swiatek fare? Key French Open draw questions appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu has signed up for the Berlin Open, signalling a major change in her grass-court schedule ahead of Wimbledon.

The Brit has opted to skip the WTA 125 event in Nottingham, which is taking place the same week as the Berlin tournament – June 16-22.

Other participants in Berlin include nine of the WTA’s top 10, with only Iga Swiatek choosing to not play in the German capital.

Raducanu will make her 2025 grass-court debut at the Queen’s event the week prior to her newly added tournament, which will mark the first time in 50 years that a WTA event will take place in London.

The world No 43 could also choose to play in Eastbourne or Bad Homburg during the week of June 23, but this will likely depend on her success in both Queen’s and Berlin.

Last year, Raducanu had a successful grass-court swing – making the semi-finals at the Nottingham Open (losing to Katie Boulter), the quarter-finals in Eastbourne (defeated by Daria Kasatkina), and the fourth round at Wimbledon (falling to Lulu Sun).

Wimbledon has been the Brit’s second most successful Grand Slam, with two fourth-round appearances (in 2021 and 2024).

The 2021 US Open champion is looking to fill up her schedule, after an injury-riddled 2024 season, taking a late wildcard into the WTA event in Strasbourg after an early loss at the Italian Open.

In her first match in Strasbourg, Raducanu ended a three-match losing streak against Australian Daria Kastaskina with an impressive 6-1, 6-3 victory.

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“I’m really proud of my performance,” the Brit said.

“How I came out and I was really aggressive.

“I also managed to maintain my focus in the second set when it was getting close and Daria was playing some great points when I was trying to serve the match out so I’m really proud of today’s performance.

“I think I’ve been building towards this. It’s a great feeling because I think I had three great matches in Rome and the fourth I played an opponent who was better than me on the day.

“To kind of bring that level here, I’m really proud. But I think as I spend more time on clay, I’m starting to like it more and more. I’m building my relationship with the surface.”

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Carlos Alcaraz will not have “any doubts” concerning his upcoming French Open title defence, according to former world No 2 Alex Corretja.

Spanish star Alcaraz defeated Alexander Zverev in a five-set final to win his first Roland Garros title in 2024, and is considered by many the favourite to once again triumph in Paris.

The world No 2 has lifted two Masters 1000 titles on clay this spring, winning in Monte Carlo and Rome, while also reaching the final of the Barcelona Open.

Alcaraz’s Italian Open victory this past weekend came after he was forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open due to injury, and saw him beat world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the final.

The Spaniard beat Sinner in the last four of the French Open last year in five sets, having struggled with cramps against Novak Djokovic in the 2023 semi-final.

Speaking ahead of Roland Garros, TNT Sports pundit Corretja hailed Alcaraz’s Rome success as an “important” win, and claimed his compatriot would be unfazed entering Paris as the reigning champion.

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“I think it’s such an important win for Alcaraz, coming into Paris – winning in Rome,” said Corretja, a two-time finalist in Paris.

“More than even Monte Carlo, because Monte Carlo was the start of the [clay] season, but then he had a little bit of a down after Barcelona, when he had his issue, then couldn’t play in Madrid, so you have some doubts: ‘How I am going to be ready to do well and succeed again?’

“Then all of a sudden you end up winning the tournament before Roland Garros. That should give him [Alcaraz] a boost of confidence, considering also that he won last year.

“He knows already that he can do well there [in Paris], he knows that he can win. He doesn’t have doubts like a few years ago, where he had issues in the semi-final against Novak.”

Main draw action at Roland Garros begins on Sunday, though it is possible that second seed Alcaraz will not begin his campaign until Tuesday.

Twelve months ago, Alcaraz dropped just one set on his way to the semi-final, where he then rallied from two sets to one down to beat Sinner in the last four and then Zverev in the final.

And Corretja has urged the reigning champion to be “smart” and avoid using up unnecessary energy in the early stages of the tournament.

He added: “Now he enters the tournament, the only thing he needs to go is to don’t try and win the tournament on the first day.

“The tournament lasts 15 days and you need to get through every single round the best you can, trying to be smart and not complicate your life in matches where you can finish maybe in two hours, not in three hours.

“That amount of time you spend on court, you might need that as the tournament goes on. I think he should enter the tournament thinking he can do very well.

“But he should be very humble, knowing that Roland Garros is, in my opinion, by far the toughest tournament of the year.

“Especially on the men’s side, considering they play best of five with changing conditions and opponents every single day.”

Watch every moment of the French Open live and exclusive on discovery+

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The post Carlos Alcaraz ‘doesn’t have any doubts’ about French Open title defence, warns former No 2 appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic has opted for a two-man coaching team on a short-term basis following his decision to end his coaching agreement with Andy Murray.

Having teamed up with fellow former world No 1 Murray during the off season, the pair worked together at the Australian Open where Djokovic reached the semi-final.

Their most successful tournament was no doubt the Miami Open as the Serbian finished runner-up to Jakub Mensik, but there were several low points along the way as the 24-time Grand Slam winner suffered early defeats in Qatar, Indian Wells, Monte Carlo and Madrid.

In his first interview after announcing the split, Djokovic said: “I respect him even more now that I’ve gotten to know him as a person. He has a brilliant tennis mind, a rare view of tennis, but we didn’t reach what we both hoped we would, in terms of results.

“That’s it, we tried, it didn’t work.”

The tennis great has already turned to two “new” coaches as they will join him at his next two events, although both have experience of being part of the all-conquering Djokovic set-up.

“Dusan Vemic, who is actually [the Serbian Billie Jean King] Cup captain — but he was part of my coaching team years ago with Marian — he’s here, so he’s going to be here with me in Geneva and Roland Garros,” Djokovic announced.

“And Boris Bosnjakovic, who is my assistant coach and analyst as well, so they’re both going to kind of share that role for the next couple of tournaments and then we’ll see.”

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Bosnjakovic joined Team Djokovic back in May 2024 while Vemic worked with him 2011 to 2013, but for now the world No 6 is not in a hurry to a appoint a full-time head coach.

“I don’t have any rush to choose whether I’m going to have someone or not, I don’t know. I don’t know at this moment,” the tennis great stated.

“I’m fine with these guys and I’m happy the way it is and then we’ll see after Paris.”

Who are Dusan Vemic and Boris Bosnjakovic?

Both are former ATP Tour players, but Vemic had more success as he peaked at No 146 in the singles and No 31 in the doubles. He didn’t win any titles, but finished runner-up in two ATP doubles events and was a doubles semi-finalist at the Australian Open and French Open.

Bosnjakovic’s highest singles ranking was 740 while he didn’t play any doubles.

Their coaching credentials?

As mentioned by Djokovic, Vemic is currently the coach of Serbia’s Billie Jean King Cup and they recently lost their Europe/Africa Zone Promotion Play-off match against Croatia.

Vemic joined forces with Petar Popovic in 2009 and helped Andrea Petkovic to reach No 9 in the WTA Rankings before he joined the Djokovic team in 2011, working alongside the legendary Marian Vajda until 2013.

Djokovic was already at No 1 at the time and he won two Australian Open titles, one US Open trophy and the 2012 ATP Finals with Vemic on the team.

He joined the Serbian Davis Cup team’s coaching staff in 2013 and three years later he was appointed head coach of tennis’ greatest men’s doubles team, Mike and Bob Bryan, working with them for a couple of years.

The Bryan brothers finished runner-up at the 2016 French Open and 2017 Australian Open.

Vemic’s most recent solo gig was working with Brandon Nakashima from May 2020 until February 2022.

Bosnjakovic has been with the Djokovic team since May 2024.

His LinkedIn profile states he has “learned from and collaborated with some of the greatest names in the sport, such as Roy Emerson, Niki Pilic, Ricardo ‘Pancho’ Gonzalez, Dennis Rolston, Novak Djokovic, Marian Vajda, and Goran Ivanisevic”.

His specialty is no doubt analysing and strategising and he briefly had a stint with the Serbia Davis Cup team before joining the Novak Tennis Centre in 2020 as he helped to nurture the future starts of the game.

Bosnjakovic has been an ever-present member at the academy since then and often joined the Djokovic team during the tennis great’s big tournaments.

But in 2024 he got a big promotion after Djokovic’s split from Goran Ivanisevic and now he will part of the two-man coaching set-up for Roland Garros 2025.

The post Who are Novak Djokovic’s coaches following Andy Murray split? appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic has conceded that his coaching partnership with Andy Murray “didn’t work” in his first comments since the two parted ways.

It was announced last week that Djokovic and Murray would no longer be working together, following a short-lived partnership that was first announced towards the tailend of 2024.

Anticipation for the player-coach partnership between the two former rivals was high, but the Serbian was unable to find consistent form with Murray as his coach.

Djokovic reached the Australian Open semi-final back in January, defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the last eight, though was forced to retire injured in his semi-final versus Alexander Zverev.

Another highlight for Djokovic under Murray’s guidance was his run to the Miami Open final, the 37-year-old ultimately beaten by Jakub Mensik in the final.

Despite solid runs in Melbourne and Miami, it has been an underwhelming season for the Serbian elsewhere, losing his opening match in four of seven events so far in 2025.

The announcement of the split came off the back of Djokovic’s opening-match exit to Matteo Arnaldi at the Madrid Open, after which he then withdrew from the Italian Open.

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In a bid for matches ahead of the French Open, the 24-time Grand Slam champion has taken a wildcard into the Geneva Open.

Djokovic’s campaign at the ATP 250 event begins on Wednesday and, speaking ahead of his campaign, he revealed that he thought he and Murray “could not get more” from their partnership.

“There is nothing more to say than what you read in the announcements,” said Djokovic. “We said that it will not be long-term, but let’s see how it goes.

“Australia was a test, then Indian Wells and Miami, on clay we went tournament by tournament. We felt that we could not get more out of this cooperation.

“I respect him even more now that I’ve gotten to know him as a person. He has a brilliant tennis mind, a rare view of tennis, but we didn’t reach what we both hoped we would, in terms of results.

“That’s it, we tried, it didn’t work.”

Djokovic will hope to discover some much-needed form in Geneva, with the second Grand Slam of the year at Roland Garros just days away.

The Serbian is the second seed at the tournament and begins his campaign on Wednesday against world No 134 Marton Fucsovics, an opponent he holds a perfect 5-0 record against.

Djokovic also took a wildcard into the event back in 2024, reaching the semi-final before a three-set loss to Tomas Machac.

After his Geneva campaign, Djokovic will then head to Paris for the second Grand Slam of the year, searching for a record-extending 25th major title.

The Serbian triumphed at Roland Garros in 2016, 2021, and 2023, and reached the quarter-final in 2024 before he was forced to withdraw from his clash with Casper Ruud due to injury.

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Novak Djokovic has admitted that he is navigating a “new chapter” in his career despite insisting his “desire” is still high ahead of his Geneva Open campaign.

World No 6 Djokovic is competing at the ATP 250 event for the second straight year, having once again taken a wildcard into the main draw.

The 37-year-old’s decision to accept a wildcard came after a difficult start to his clay swing, which saw him lose in his opening Monte Carlo Masters and Madrid Open matches.

Djokovic has not played since his loss to Matteo Arnaldi in Madrid, withdrawing from the Italian Open in the aftermath of his early exit.

2025 has proven a challenging season for the Serbian, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion battling a range of issues.

Djokovic impressed at the Australian Open with a quarter-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz, only to retire injured in his semi-final versus Alexander Zverev.

That kickstarted a run of three straight losses for Djokovic, his worst losing streak since 2018, though he bounced back to reach the final of the Miami Open.

However, he was beaten by Jakub Mensik in the final, and his losses to Alejandro Tabilo in Monte Carlo and Arnaldi in Madrid mean he is once again on a three-match losing run.

Speaking in Geneva ahead of his opening match on Wednesday, Djokovic conceded that the past few months had proven a challenge – but still had the same hunger to compete.

“This is a new chapter in my career that I’m trying to navigate,” said Djokovic.

“I’m not really used to these circumstances, with defeats coming one after the other in the first few rounds – even though I knew it would happen at some point.

“I’m proud of everything I’ve achieved in my career, but I still have the desire to do everything I can to reach my best level so I can win Grand Slam tournaments and beat the best players in the world.

“That’s why I’m here. I want more trophies, I want to build my form ahead of the French Open.”

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The French Open gets underway on Sunday, just one day after the Geneva Open final.

Djokovic is a three-time champion at Roland Garros and is looking to capture a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title in Paris.

The Serbian is also looking to become just the third man to win 100 ATP Tour singles titles, following in the footsteps of Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer.

Currently on 99 titles, Djokovic will hope to hit that milestone in either Geneva or Paris.

And, in a warning shot to his rivals, he revealed his “motivation” to be successful at the Grand Slams remained as high as ever.

He added: “My motivation is still there, but it’s a transition period where I need to understand how my body reacts, where I need to deal better with the circumstances.

“With the idea of being successful, especially at the Grand Slams, even though I want to shine everywhere I play. The majors are the pinnacle of our sport.

“I hope that I can play more than one match here to get a better start to the French Open, the most important tournament on clay.”

Djokovic will face world No 134 Marton Fucscovics in his opening match in Geneva.

The Serbian reached the semi-final of the event twelve months ago, falling to Tomas Machac in three sets.

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Jannik Sinner is set to appoint Rafael Nadal’s former coach Carlos Moya for the 2026 season, according to a report.

Moya will replace Darren Cahill on Sinner‘s coaching team, with the legendary Australian stepping down from coaching on the ATP Tour at the end of the year.

Cahill joined Sinner’s team in July 2022 and, along with Simone Vagnozzi, he has been integral to the Italian’s evolution as a player and the huge success he has enjoyed.

Sinner has won 14 of his 19 career singles titles — including all three of his Grand Slams — since appointing Cahill.

The 23-year-old has been the world No 1 since climbing to the pinnacle of the ATP Rankings for the first time in June 2024.

“He brought me so many things,” Sinner said when asked about Cahill during the 2025 Australian Open. “One year is still long. I don’t want to talk so much about his retirement.

“I feel very, very lucky and happy to be his last player on tour. He has been an amazing, amazing coach and person, not only for me but for all the other players he has worked with.”

Sofya Tartakova, a tennis journalist for Russian outlet Bolshe!, reported the news of Sinner’s major coaching move in a post on X.

“Carlos Moya to coach Jannik Sinner! As Bolshe! has learned, the world No 1 will start working with the Spanish coach in 2026,” Tartakova wrote.

Moya coached Nadal from 2017 until his legendary fellow Mallorcan retired in November 2024, helping him win 21 titles, including eight of his 22 Grand Slams and eight Masters 1000 crowns.

The Spaniard reached world No 1 and won 20 titles, including the 1998 French Open, during an illustrious playing career spanning from 1995 to 2010.

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The report comes as something of a surprise given Moya declared earlier this month that he was in no rush to take another coaching role on the tour.

“Maybe in a few months or a few years I’ll change my mind, but right now, I’m enjoying this moment,” the 48-year-old said during an event in Madrid.

“After so much time traveling and competing, a detox period was a good idea. I’m not bored at all.”

Sinner is next set to compete at the 2025 French Open, which will get underway on Sunday May 25.

The world No 1 will aim to win a maiden Roland Garros title, having achieved his best previous result at the Paris major last year, when he reached the semi-finals.

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Roland Garros will officially wave goodbye to its favourite son, Rafael Nadal, during a ceremony at this year’s tournament, but will any high-profile tennis figures attend the tribute?

King of Clay Nadal – who won a record 14 majors in Paris – made the last of his 19 main draw appearances at the French Open last year and he was handed a plum opening match against Alexander Zverev as he used his protected ranking to enter the tournament.

The Spaniard was beaten in straight sets by the fourth seed and later in the year he announced his retirement from tennis with his last professional event the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.

What Happened In Malaga?

A big ceremony was planned for later in the tournament and the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray had indicated they would attend

But Spain were stunned in the quarter-finals by the Netherlands with Nadal losing his last-ever singles match in straight sets against Botic van de Zandschulp.

After Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers lost their doubles encounter against Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof, organisers were forced to do an on-court ceremony immediately after the match, which was on a Tuesday.

Federer, Djokovic and Murray were only expected to fly in over the weekend as many believed Spain would reach the final, but it meant they were not present for the ceremony.

Criticism For “Shabby Farewell”

Nadal’s family, closest friends, his coaching team and the rest of Spain’s Davis Cup squad were in attendance in Malaga last November.

But while the tennis great didn’t comment about the ceremony, others were unimpressed as his former coach and uncle Toni Nadal stated: “I’m not trying to criticise anyone. I would have preferred something different, more in line with his career.”

His long-term coach Carlos Moya said: “The feeling we are all left with is a bit scruffy and shabby. It’s true that it’s a Tuesday night, but this is sport and we knew months in advance that if Spain lost, Rafa would retire. Nadal is far above all this.”

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Spain’s Davis Cup captain David Ferrer said: “The farewell to someone as important as Rafa was watered down; very important people in his career were missing, as well as people who have been so important at the level of his rivals and his team. I missed those people.”

Second Farewell Date

Nadal didn’t want a farewell at Roland Garros in 2024 as he hadn’t quite confirmed his retirement at that stage, but he will be honoured at the 2025 tournament.

Organisers have revealed the ceremony is set for the opening day, Sunday, May 25, with events set to get underway after the day’s play on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Nadal himself doesn’t want a big bash and tournament director Amelie Mauresmo told TNT Sports: “We want to honour Rafa and make sure that we celebrate him in the right way.

“Winning 14 times here is such a special memory for him, such a special relationship between the tournament and Rafa.

“He also wants something simple, authentic, and true, just like he is. So we try to fit that order, let’s say.”

Federer, Djokovic & Murray To Attend?

So far, there has been no official confirmation from the three former world No 1s that they will be on Court Philippe-Chatrier to attend the ceremony.

Djokovic, of course, will be in Paris as he will take part in the French Open, but it remains to be seen if Federer and Murray – who recently parted ways with Djokovic after a six-month stint as his coach – will fly to the French capital.

Current stars Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, who have been big fans of Nadal since their childhoods, will also be competing at Roland Garros and could be in attendance.

The post Rafael Nadal’s French Open tribute: Will Federer, Djokovic, Murray attend after Malaga let-down appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu continued her impressive form on clay as she brushed world No 17 Daria Kasatkina aside in the first round in Strasbourg and it gave her big boost in the battle to reclaim the British No 1 ranking.

Fresh from a run to the fourth round of the Italian Open, Raducanu followed it up with 6-1, 6-3 victory over a player who is 26 places above her in the WTA Rankings.

Having moved up six places to No 43 with her last-16 run in Rome, the 22-year-old is now on the cusp of a return to inside the top 30 as she climbed another two places in the Live Rankings to No 41 after the win over the sixth seed.

And there is an opportunity to move even higher as the Strasbourg event is a WTA 500 tournament so a lot of points are on offer.

Raducanu doesn’t have any points to defend at the French event and she is guaranteed to earn 60 points for reaching the second round, which puts her on 1,319 points after the Kasatkina win.

Up next is a much tougher assignment as she faces Danielle Collins, but if she gets past the American and reaches the quarter-final she will move to 1,367 points, which is not good enough for another move up the rankings as Elina Avanesyan is ahead of her on 1,380 points.

Only a run to the semi-final is good for another boost as she would earn 195 points in total and that would put her on 1,454.

Battle To Be British No 1

Does that mean she moves ahead of Katie Boulter and takes over as British No 1?

Not yet as Boulter is currently at No 38 on 1,456 with her decision to play in the WTA 125K Trophee Clarins proving to be a smart move.

After a disappointing first-round defeat at the Italian Open, Boulter dropped down a level and won the title in Paris – her first trophy on clay – to collect 125 ranking points, which helped her to move up two places.

But she is not in action this week as she has already switched focus to the French Open.

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Boulter, though, remains favourite to be the British No 1 at Roland Garros as Raducanu can only overtake her if she reaches the final. Finishing runner-up (325 points) or winning the title (500 points) would see her surpass her fellow Brit.

But there is a third name in the race to be the top British woman after the clay-court Grand Slam as Sonay Kartal is now part of the conversation.

Kartal moved up three places in the rankings to No 53 on Monday and it will be a shootout between the trio with the player who goes furthest in Paris likely to be the British No 1 after the tournament.

The 23-year-old Kartal – who started the year at No 87 – does have a big disadvantage as she sits on 1,055 points.

There is good news for the three British players as they don’t have points to defend at Roland Garros as Raducanu and Kartal didn’t feature last year and Boulter lost in the first round.

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