Emma Raducanu’s decision to pull out of the Italian Open may not have been a surprise, but the events leading up to her latest withdrawal left so many unanswered questions.
The British No 1 has not hit a ball in a competitive match since losing heavily against Amanda Anisomova at Indian Wells in early March.
A series of withdrawals from tournaments since then has been put down to what has been described as ‘the ongoing effects of a virus’ she picked up while playing in a tournament in Romania in February.
With no end in sight to her health problems, it would have been sensible to pull out of the Italian Open before flying to Rome and practicing with some top players in recent days, yet Raducanu took an alternative approach.
She completed her media duties in Rome, talked up her hopes for the next few weeks that should include appearances on home soil in grass court tournaments and appeared to be ready to banish any notions that she is falling out of love with the sport.
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Then half an hour after making those comments, she pulled out of the Italian Open and again cited the ‘virus’ as the reason.
A lot of what happened in the early evening of Tuesday in Rome made little sense, but Raducanu may have given a hint to where she is mentally right now in her comments to Sky Sports.
Motivation should not be an issue for a young athlete eager to get back to the top of the sport, but she suggested she has recently rediscovered ‘her spark’ in comments that will raise eyebrows.
“It’s been a long few weeks since I last competed. I’ve made good progress, good gains in the last few weeks,” she told Sky Sports.
“I’m feeling really positive about where I’m heading and how I’m playing, what I’m doing on the court each day. I feel motivated and feel good to go. That’s a real win for me.
“Right now, it’s about trying to get up to speed in terms of physically, playing points again.
“It’s very different practising and playing points again, and sets, and playing against the girls who are top level. Seeing where my game is at and trying to react sharply to the ball. So that’s what I’ve been doing here, trying to get my eye in.”
The comments that she has found her motivation in recent weeks can only be viewed as a reference to the fact that she lost it at some point in recent months and that will fuel the belief that she is struggling to find her mojo on court.
She practiced with Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to US Open glory almost five years ago, ahead of her trip to Rome and that suggested she was trying new ways to get herself back on track.
Yet this latest withdrawal leaves so many unanswered questions and while she could enter a clay court tournament the week before the French Open, there has to be strong chance now that she will not play on clay in 2026.
That will put all the spotlight on her grass court season and by then, her ranking will have plummeted and she will not be gaining entry into the elite tournaments on the WTA Tour.
Raducanu’s hint that motivation has been an issue for her this year will raise alarm bells and if she is not driven to play in the world’s biggest tennis tournaments, it’s hard to imagine she will be inspired to perform at lower ranking events if she drops out of the top 100 in the rankings.
Decision time may soon be looming for Raducanu over what she does next with her career and her life and the signs are not positive after this latest withdrawal.
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