Raducanu confident of long-term potential on clay

Emma Raducanu believes she has the game to excel on clay courts ahead of her debut appearance at the French Open at Roland Garros. The 19-year-old US Open champion only made her first professional appearance on clay this season and recently was forced withdraw from the Rome Masters with a back injury. Ad/> But she has recovered from that to take her place in the draw in Paris and is set to take on a qualifier in the first round.

Roland-Garros'I am very confident in what I am doing' — Raducanu shrugs off concerns over lack of coach28 MINUTES AGO And while Raducanu is well aware that she is not yet the finished article on clay, she believes the potential is there on the surface. She said: «I could be a great clay-court player, like looking forward, long, medium-term, in a few years where I have definitely developed more robustness and I'm able to repeat the same shots over and over. »I think I have definitely come a long way and probably progressed faster than expected in the last few weeks and I really am enjoying the clay.

I really believe that I can be good and faster than I thought it would be. «I'm learning about my body but I'm very happy to be continuing my preparations for the French Open and to be able to play this tournament and fortunately I didn't have to miss this Grand Slam. »That is definitely a really positive thing because I really look forward to these big moments and the big tournaments.

After Rome, I definitely had to slow down, but this week I have been training and luckily being able to practise all of the shots. «I'm looking forward to continuing that, and it feels good to be able to move freely and just like run around. It's quite fun.