Emma Raducanu promised to learn from her mistakes following the controversy surrounding her recent schedule, and she will keep that pledge as she competes in her first qualifying event since 2021.
The 21-year-old has signed up for numerous Asian swing tournaments, including this week’s Korea Open, where she reached the quarterfinals before returning midway through her match against Daria Kasatkina, and the WTA 1000 China Open.
Raducanu got a straight admission into the Beijing event because it has a 96-player main draw, but her current rating of 70 does not qualify her for the Wuhan Open, which only has 56 participants.
But the British prodigy has entered the qualifying draw, which she has been hesitant to do since winning the US Open three years ago.
However, the path to the main draw in Wuhan will be difficult, as a number of high-profile players, including fellow Grand Slam champions Sofia Kenin, Sloane Stephens, Bianca Andreescu, and Naomi Osaka, have entered the qualifying tournament.
Raducanu, on the other hand, remembers her last top-level qualifying tournament well: in 2021, she won 10 matches in a row at the US Open, three in qualifying and seven in the main draw, becoming the first qualifying player to win a Grand Slam.
