Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, is charting a new course for her 2025 season, unveiling an ambitious plan to tackle the clay courts with renewed vigor. After a rollercoaster year marked by a triumphant return to the WTA top 50, the 22-year-old Briton is setting her sights on conquering the red dirt, a surface where she has yet to fully showcase her potential. Following a second-round exit at the Madrid Open, Raducanu shared insights into her clay court strategy, revealing a pragmatic yet optimistic approach to mastering the challenging surface as she prepares for the Italian Open and Roland Garros.
Raducanu’s clay court journey began in Madrid, where she kicked off her campaign with a hard-fought 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Suzan Lamens. The match, played under the blazing Spanish sun, tested her resilience against a formidable clay-court opponent. However, her run ended abruptly in the second round against 24th seed Marta Kostyuk, who capitalized on Raducanu’s struggles with movement to secure a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win. Reflecting on the loss, Raducanu candidly admitted her discomfort on the surface, particularly with sliding and agility. “I found moving really difficult,” she said. “I felt like I was slipping around, but it was taking me a long time to get out of the corners and after the serve as well.” Despite the setback, she remained upbeat, noting the value of the experience: “I think it’s positive to get through and play two matches on the outdoor clay courts.”
The Madrid Open marked Raducanu’s first clay outing of 2025, a deliberate choice following a 10-day training block in Los Angeles after her standout quarter-final run at the Miami Open. Opting out of the Billie Jean King Cup and the WTA 250 event in Rouen, she prioritized preparation over early competition, a decision that sparked debate among observers. Former world number one Andy Roddick questioned her choice to pause after Miami, where she defeated top-20 players Emma Navarro and Amanda Anisimova. “She just found her form… why is she recalibrating?” Roddick remarked on his Served podcast. “She looked like a top 10 player in Miami. Why stop now?” Yet, Raducanu’s focus on long-term growth suggests a strategic mindset, with clay as a critical piece of her development puzzle.
Raducanu’s clay court plan hinges on building experience and confidence through high-profile tournaments. She is confirmed for the Italian Open in Rome, starting May 6, a WTA 1000 event where she hopes to improve on her 2022 performance, when she retired injured in her only match. Her current ranking of 49 ensures direct entry into the French Open, a golden opportunity to gain points after skipping the event in 2024. “I’m not really sure how to improve [my movement], so I guess I’ll just take that back and try to work on it in the next week,” she said post-Madrid, signaling a commitment to refining her game ahead of Rome. She also hinted at potentially adding the WTA 500 in Strasbourg or the WTA 250 in Rabat to her schedule, both held the week before Roland Garros, to maximize her clay-court exposure.
Former British number one Laura Robson has been a vocal supporter of Raducanu’s clay court potential, urging her to embrace the surface. “I think in the future, it’s going to be a surface that will actually really suit me,” Raducanu echoed during last year’s Billie Jean King Cup, a sentiment Robson reinforced. “Madrid is always so different to Rome, and it might be that one set of conditions suits Emma better than the other,” Robson told Sky Sports. Raducanu’s powerful groundstrokes are well-suited to clay, but her limited experience—only 18 professional matches on the surface with a 55.6% win rate—highlights the learning curve ahead. Her best clay results include quarter-final runs in Stuttgart in 2022 and 2024, where she notched wins over players like Caroline Garcia and Linda Noskova but fell to clay titan Iga Swiatek.
Raducanu’s coaching setup remains fluid, with Mark Petchey serving as her interim coach in Madrid. “We haven’t made anything formal, he’s someone I can really trust,” she said, expressing optimism about their collaboration. “Hopefully,” she added when asked if Petchey would join her in Rome. This ad-hoc arrangement, coupled with her resilience—evident in her recovery from wrist and ankle surgeries in 2023—underscores her adaptability. “I would say that it is pretty noticeable to me that I don’t necessarily feel very comfortable, but I think that’s something that I can improve on,” she reflected, emphasizing her goal to “play as many points as I can on [clay].”
As Raducanu gears up for Rome and beyond, her clay court plan reflects a blend of ambition and pragmatism. With only 108 ranking points to defend this season, she has a prime opportunity to climb the WTA rankings, especially at Roland Garros, where she reached the second round in her 2022 debut. Her journey on clay, though fraught with challenges, is a testament to her determination to evolve as a complete player, ready to face the dirt head-on in pursuit of tennis stardom.
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