Tamira Paszek has come to Emma Raducanu’s defense as the two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist says the 2021 US Open champion playing qualifying and lower-ranked tournaments wouldn’t be as easy as it seems because she would be “hunted” there and pretty much everyone would be extra motivated and determined to beat her.
Although the Briton was ranked around No. 300 when she returned from multiple surgeries, she didn’t have any issues entering the main-level tournaments earlier this year because she kept receiving main draw wildcards. But then, certain events opted to overlook the former world No. 10 when making wildcard selection.
The first that come to mind are the French Open and the WTA 1000 tournaments in Rome, Montreal and Cincinnati – Raducanu elected not to play qualifying in any of those events. While the current world No. 58 provided certain explanations, some didn’t buy it and remained convinced that she was deliberately skipping qualifying.
Apart from that criticism, some have also been urging the Briton to play in some WTA 125 (Challenger) tournaments and test herself there.
But three-time WTA champion Paszek – who was once a promising star in the game before injuries derailed her career when she was in her early twenties – currently mainly competes on the…
