Emma Raducanu’s Olympic snub leaves former British No 1 ‘very surprised’

Emma Raducanu reacts at the 2024 Australian Open

Former British No 1 Annabel Croft has admitted being left “very surprised” by Emma Raducanu’s decision not to head to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer.

It was confirmed on Sunday that 2021 US Open winner Raducanu would not be making her Olympic bow in Paris because of scheduling concerns.

The Brit has decided to focus solely on hard courts after the grass season has finished, rather than head back to the clay at Roland Garros.

The decision has attracted huge debate, with some supporting Raducanu’s reasoning, but others questioning her commitment – accusations she strongly refuted earlier this week.

And Croft admitted the announcement had surprised her somewhat.

“I have to be honest, I was very surprised to hear that she wouldn’t want to go there,” said Croft.

“Every player knows her own mind at the time and she has obviously given it a huge amount of

consideration and has decided that going from grass to clay and then going onto the hard courts.

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“I just hope she doesn’t regret it. I’m sure she will have many other opportunities in the future, but you never know.

“Her body has broken down a few times already, she has had wrist surgeries and ankle surgery and it has prevented her from getting any momentum in her game.”

Since Raducanu’s withdrawal, the likes of world No 3 Aryna Sabalenka and three-time Slam finalist Ons Jabeur have also announced they would not head to Paris – citing concerns about repeated surface changes.

Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov – who both medalled at the Tokyo 2020 Games – will also not head to the Games this summer.

And Croft admitted further surprise that many would sacrifice participation and miss out on the Olympic experience.

She added: “All I know is that every player who has gone to the Olympics has had such a wonderful experience. They enjoy going to watch other athletes in other sports and it’s a kind of a once, possibly, in a lifetime experience.

“Things have changed. We know that the Olympics and tennis go hand-in-hand every four years. It has become a stand-alone thing and it is a very different mindset.

“When you play on the tour, you are very insular and it’s all about you. Very selfish. When you have to represent your country, it’s a totally different pressure and there are different nerves that run through your body.

“It just feels totally different to anything you experience in tennis.”

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