Emma Raducanu was offered an ITF Wild Card to enter the 2024 Paris Olympics, but she declined the chance to play.
The Brit played some stellar tennis on clay earlier this year, leading the British Billie Jean King Cup team past the French team in the team competition. With those performances, it seemed very likely that Raducanu could shine at Roland Garros, but she didn’t.
She withdrew from the event to better prepare for the grass season where she felt more confident about making a good run. Her intuition proved correct, as she made the semi-final in Nottingham, losing to defending champion Katie Boulter after three hours of battling.
Despite the logic of the decision, many questioned Raducanu’s choice, and the same will likely happen with her choice regarding the Olympic Games. British Olympic team leader Iain Bates recently confirmed that Raducanu wouldn’t be playing at the Paris Olympics despite being offered an ITF wild card, given to players who reached the world no. 1 spot or have won a Grand Slam.
“She [Raducanu] feels that this isn’t going to be the right timing for her for this summer. I think a lot of that is obviously in the late notice of the spot [and] I think there’s the bit around the surface change between grass and clay and hard, and everyone’s aware of her history and the double wrist surgery from last year that that places a great stress on her.”
The ITF offers only two wild cards, one of which went to Caroline Wozniacki, so turning it down is not an easy decision. However, Raducanu was pretty certain of her decision, committing to having a summer without the Olympic Games.
She might go to the United States early to better prepare for the US Open or just rest. Either way, she’s got many years left, and will very likely play at the Olympics in the future.
