Emma Raducanu's 'strange' US Open decision questioned in Naomi Osaka comparison
Emma Raducanu has played just three matches between Wimbledon and the US Open.
Andy Roddick has questioned Emma Raducanu's decision to avoid playing in any qualifiers in the build-up to the US Open. The young Brit has only played three matches since Wimbledon, having skipped the Olympics before reaching the quarter-finals of the Washington Open.
Raducanu also missed the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open after being denied wildcards for both tournaments. She was said to have rejected the chance to take part in qualifying for the latter, instead opting for a training block ahead of her return to Flushing Meadows.
Roddick has explained that he was unsure why Raducanu chose not to qualify for the Cincinnati Open when Naomi Osaka was able to put her pride to one side and take part.
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Speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, he said: "I loved what she was building through Washington and then she decided she wasn’t going to play qualifiers in any of the tournaments, which is even stranger when you see someone like Naomi Osaka put pride on the side and go play qualifiers in Cincinnati.
"Those of us questioning that decision maybe felt validated once we see someone like an Osaka go play qualifying. So, we don’t know, I loved what Raducanu was building at Wimbledon. I loved the continuation of that in Washington."
It remains to be seen if Raducanu's lack of action will have a negative impact on her hopes of doing well at the US Open. She will get her campaign underway with a tough test against Sofia Kenin and will be looking to give a good account of herself at Flushing Meadows.
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John McEnroe also recently said that he was struggling to assess Raducanu's chances at the US Open given her unpredictability over the last few months.
"Sometimes I see her and it looks like she is heading back towards the top of the game and then other times I’m a bit befuddled about what’s going on," he explained.
"I’m not close to her team and what is going on, but I hope she is healthy. There were a couple of matches at Wimbledon and she looked really good and then in the last one, she looked really shaky. It’s hard to know what to say about her. I don’t really know.
"She is certainly in a better space and healthier than she was a year ago, so that’s good, but I don’t know where she is mentally. Does she have that absolute belief and commitment to win something big again or be in the top 10? That I can’t say."
