Raducanu Slams Aussie Open: Schedule ‘Doesn’t Make Sense’
Emma Raducanu criticizes Australian Open scheduling, facing a potential midnight match and tight turnaround, highlighting the struggles of top tennis players.
Tennis players are used to playing matches on short notice, but Emma Raducanu has questioned the timing of her Australian Open first-round match on Sunday night in Melbourne.
The British number one only arrived at the first Grand Slam of the season on Saturday after her flight was delayed following her run to the quarter-finals of a warm-up tournament in Hobart.
Less than 48 hours later, the 23-year-old, who is seeded at a major tournament for the first time in over three years, will face Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand.
"It's very tough," said Raducanu, ranked world number 29.
"You'd like to have more time to get used to the conditions, more time to practice, but I think I've been given the schedule that I have to manage.
"I just have to make the most of whatever is put in front of me." "It's easy to complain about it, but it's not going to help."
Another concern regarding the scheduling is the likelihood of the match starting late at night.
Raducanu and Sawayanakev are scheduled second on Margaret Court Arena in the evening session, following the men's singles match between Kazakh 10th seed Alexander Bublik and American opponent Jenson Brooksby.
That best-of-five-set match is scheduled to start at 7 pm local time (06:00 GMT), meaning Raducanu is unlikely to get on court until close to midnight.
The Australian Open has a history of matches running late and into the early hours of the morning, most famously when Britain's Andy Murray finished a match in 2023 at 4:05 am local time.
Software Services
 |
Start your own gaming platform for just $3,000 |
There have been numerous instances of matches finishing well after midnight – something sports scientists say should not be "romanticized".
"I think scheduling a women's match after a potential five-set match is very difficult. I don't really understand it too much," said Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion.
Raducanu is carefully preparing for Sunday.
"After seeing it, the first reaction is 'Oh, that's really late'," she said. "Then you deal with it, try to change your day and adjust."
Due to a delayed flight to Melbourne, Raducanu did not train on Friday and postponed her only practice session at the Australian Open until 9 pm on Saturday to adjust to the late-night tennis conditions.
"When I played the US Open semi-final, I played the second night match, but other than that, I haven't played that late," she said. "So this is a new experience, something I have to learn from.
"Hopefully, if I play this game for a long time, I'll be in this situation again, so it's a good learning curve to try and adjust and deal with it on the day."
Raducanu made encouraging progress in 2023, returning to the world's top 30 and playing more matches than in any previous season of her career.
However, her plans to do technical work in the off-season with coach Francisco Roig – who helped Rafael Nadal win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles – were disrupted by a foot injury.
Raducanu's lack of practice has been evident in the four matches she has played so far this year.
During a disappointing defeat to world number 204 Taylah Preston in Hobart, she often looked hesitant with her shots and played passively, failing to put pressure on her opponent.
"I know I'm working on it, and even this week, I know I'm still on the right path to where I want to be.
"I've been really happy over the last few weeks – that I've been able to be very pragmatic about it, not get too emotional."
Thank you for reading this content.
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
