Just before the start of this epic second-round clash between Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu at the 2025 French Open, the Brit was heard saying, “It’s great, I get another crack at the best in the world. It’s a match for me where I can test and challenge myself.” Did she test herself to the fullest? Well, the answer lies in the scoreline! The four-time champion literally thrashed her in the second-round clash by 6-1,6-2. With this win, the Pole has now taken her winning streak to 23 at Roland Garros. But on the other hand, Raducanu has already started to face quite a few backlashes following her disappointing performance against one of the finest on clay. What are the fans saying about the Brit, though?
Well, recently, Emma Raducanu made a very interesting claim. Just before the start of this epic battle, she took a jibe at the French Open organizers, suggesting only the top players are given more time to practice on show courts here. Since the 2021 US Open champion is not among the seeds at Roland Garros this year, she had to accept playing on the outside courts.
Highlighting the concern about not getting enough time to practice on the Philippe-Chatrier, Raducanu had then said, “I feel like certain players get preferred treatment. I honestly think it’s really difficult because the tournament doesn’t really help in terms of getting you court time on the bigger courts or on like the match courts, really. I feel like, I don’t know, certain players get preferred treatment. It’s very different from at the annex, for example, across the road or other courts to then kind of jump onto Chatrier or jump onto a stadium. It isn’t easy. I wish they would give us more opportunities on the stadium or bigger courts, especially if we’re going to play on them.“
Ahead of her clash with Swiatek, Raducanu expressed frustration at the lack of practice on the big courts
“I feel like certain players get preferential treatment. It’s very different from the annex…I wish they’d give us more opportunities on stadium or bigger courts..”
: FFT pic.twitter.com/oBcL9RCGMm
— TennisONE App (@TennisONEApp) May 27, 2025
Emma Raducanu already had some health concerns in her previous match against China’s Wang Xinyu. She even took a medical timeout during that match, and her blood pressure and body temperature were also checked at that time. It was her longest match on clay as it took almost 2 hours and 44 minutes to topple the Chinese by 7-5,4-6,6-3. But shortly after securing her first win at the French Open since 2022, Raducanu is back again on the critics’ radar, following her recent defeat to Swiatek. What are the fans saying, though?
Emma Raducanu’s recent defeat to Iga Swiatek draws brutal jibes towards her previous pleas
With this win, Iga Swiatek has now taken her H2H record to 5-0 against Emma Raducanu. The Brit simply couldn’t keep pace with the flamboyant Pole. Swiatek’s relentless groundstrokes and superior court coverage left Raducanu literally clueless. With this second-round win, Swiatek is now the only tennis player, male or female, to reach the third round or better at every Grand Slam this decade. Seeing this result, a fan wrote, “It’s over for Emma Raducanu, isn’t it? Iga Swiatek is demolishing little Emma left to right ….“
Before this match, Iga Swiatek didn’t want to take the Brit lightly. In fact, she had said, “Well, you know, everybody has a different path and different changes. But for sure, she’s a great player and has a great forehand. She can use her topspin pretty well. So, we have already played a couple of times, and we know each other’s games. For sure, I will need to be intense and focus on myself. She won the US Open. She can play great tennis, and I’ll be ready.” But seeing this one-sided match, some of the fans have raised serious question marks about Raducanu’s previous pleas on practice courts. One of the fans wrote, “Raducanu really asked about more practice in the bigger stadium when this is your performance level lmao.“
Previously, the former British number one, Annabel Croft, reacted to this matchup saying, “It’s a tall mountain to climb. But it’s not a foregone conclusion because Swiatek has suffered a lot of losses this year.” Seeing this performance from Emma Raducanu, it seems it was surely a huge mountain to climb. Another fan reacted to this loss saying, “Raducanu isn’t going to get more opportunities to practice on big courts if this is her performance on them.“
Emma Raducanu’s best performance in this came at the Miami Open, where she reached the QFs. Owing to some of those performances, she has now climbed inside the Top 50, ranking 41 in the world. But seeing her performances on clay, has now yet again started to raise a few doubts about the grass swing. Highlighting her embarrassing loss to Swiatek, a fan wrote, “Raducanu needs to call it a day and find something else to do. She’s a one-hit wonder. Can’t keep embarrassing herself on the big stages. Have some self-respect.”
What did Iga Swiatek say after this match, though? Well, with this win, the Pole now holds a staggering 37-2 record at this tournament. Not only that, in the Open Era, only Martina Navratilova, Conchita Martinez, and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario have achieved more consecutive round three appearances at Grand Slams. After this victory, the Pole said, “I just want to play my game. For sure, I felt good on the court. I felt I could do whatever I planned to, whatever I wanted to. I just needed to adjust to the wind as conditions were pretty tricky today. I’m happy that I did that well and that I’m through.“ On the other, it’s all gloomy for Emma Raducanu as fans claim, “Raducanu is done here.” Do you think Raducanu can make a strong comeback at the grass-court swing this year?
The post Iga Swiatek’s French Open Triumph Drowns Out Emma Raducanu’s Plea Amid Ruthless Fan Backlash appeared first on EssentiallySports.
