Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from playing the Internationaux de Strasbourg and could now enter French Open qualifying after being denied a wild card; you can watch the conclusion to the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome exclusively live on Sky Sports Tennis
Wednesday 15 May 2024 08:13, UK
Emma Raducanu has not received a wild card into this year's French Open, meaning she is likely to enter qualifying next week having already pulled out of the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
The 21-year-old former US Open champion is currently the fourth alternate into the main draw at Roland Garros but the Briton could be forced into playing qualifying at a Grand Slam for the first time since her historic US Open triumph in 2021.
There were also surprise exclusions for two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki and two-time French Open finalist Dominic Thiem.
French Open organisers historically only hand out wild cards to French players and they have continued with tradition by dishing out a total of 30 to homegrown talent across the main draw and qualifying, with only Ajla Tomljanovic, Sachia Vickery, Nicolas Moreno de Alboran and Adam Walton being the exception.
French veterans Alize Cornet and Richard Gasquet received wild card invitations among eight men and eight women's wild cards given by the French Tennis Federation.
The 34-year-old Cornet recently said she would be retiring after playing one last time at Roland Garros. This will be Cornet's 20th consecutive appearance at the French Open, where she made her Grand Slam debut in 2005. She twice has reached the fourth round there.
The only time she fared better at any major tournament was a quarter-final run at the Australian Open in 2022. Cornet's career-best ranking was No 11. She is currently No 99.
Gasquet is 37 and currently ranked No 113; his best was No 7 in 2007. His deepest run at the French Open was reaching the quarter-finals in 2016, but he has not passed the third round at Roland Garros since. At other majors, he made it to the semi-finals at Wimbledon twice and the US Open once.
American Sachia Vickery and Australian Ajla Tomljanovic were among the the women's entries and Australian Adam Walton was among the men. Their wild cards were given as part of an agreement with the United States Tennis Association and Tennis Australia.
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