Emma Raducanu Makes “Uncomfortable” Admission About the Roland Garros Court Philippe-Chatrier After Iga Swiatek’s Hammering

Iga Swiatek defeated Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Roland Garros to make it give consecutive win against the British star.

Emma Raducanu Makes “Uncomfortable” Admission About the Roland Garros Court Philippe-Chatrier After Iga Swiatek’s Hammering

Emma Raducanu and Iga Swiatek (via X/LTA/Roland Garros)

Emma Raducanu succumbed to a straight-set defeat against Iga Swiatek in the second round of the French Open. The British star struggled to play her best tennis in the one-sided contest against the four-time champion. She revealed after the loss that she felt uncomfortable playing at the Court Philippe-Chatrier for the first time in her career.

Raducanu was hoping to get the better of Swiatek, who has been struggling to find her form in recent weeks having suffered an early exit in Rome. But the Polish star certainly raised her game at the Roland Garros. She proved why she has won the tournament four times by winning 6-1, 6-2 to reach the third round.

The match was played at the Court Philippe-Chatrier, which is the main court of the event. Swiatek has been playing at the court since 2020 when she reached the final and claimed the title after upsetting Sofia Kenin. Meanwhile, it was Raducanu’s first appearance at the court in her career. She was also playing at the event for the first time since 2022 when she made her debut.

After her defeat to Swiatek, Raducanu stated that she felt a bit uncomfortable playing at the Court Philippe-Chatrier. She added that despite the feeling it was a new and good experience for her:

It was the first time playing a match on that court. It’s also different when it’s filled and it’s got everything around. You do feel like it’s a big court. It’s … new for me. It’s a surrounding that she’s obviously very comfortable with and she’s played in it a lot of times. I think that did emphasize me feeling a bit uncomfortable. But it’s a good experience for if I ever play on that court again.

Raducanu overcame Wang Xinyu in three sets in the first round of the Roland Garros. She had arrived at the tournament following a decent showing in recent matches. In fact, since the Miami Open in March, she has built a 10-5 win-loss record in her last five tournaments.

Also, Raducanu has performed well against the lowest-ranked players recently. However, she has just recorded one win and 10 defeats in her matches against the Top 8 in her career, winning only one set in those 10 defeats. She has lost all five of her matches against World No.5 Swiatek, who has won every time in straight sets.

Emma Raducanu not feeling demotivated after her loss to Iga Swiatek at the Roland Garros

Emma Raducanu was unable to claim more ranking points due to her loss to Iga Swiatek in the second round of the French Open but she added 70 points and looks set to secure a significant ranking move. Currently the World No.41 with 1,319 points, she moves to 1,389 points after the tournament and provisionally takes her to World No.37.

Emma Raducanu (via WTA)
Emma Raducanu (via WTA)

However, there might be a major swing of results at the clay-court Grand Slam that might see her drop from that position despite being likely to be ranked inside the Top 40 by the end of the French Open. She revealed after her loss to Swiatek that she doesn’t feel demotivated as she has built some momentum this clay season.

I think it does shift the dynamics of the match a bit, and then it’s very difficult to kind of stay with her as she grows in confidence. But it just shows, I guess, the distance that I have to improve… I don’t feel demotivated. I feel like since Miami I’ve really started building some momentum compared to where I came from at the start of the year and it makes me just want to keep going after a couple of days off and then get on the grass.

Raducanu will now focus on the grass-court season, which begins in the second week of June. She will open her campaign at the Nottingham Open which begins on the 9th of June.

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