French Open 2025: How Emma Raducanu will look to stun Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros

Raducanu, who has climbed as much as forty first within the rankings after an encouraging few months, has beforehand had little pleasure in opposition to Swiatek.

The 2021 US Open champion has misplaced all 4 of their earlier conferences – twice on indoor clay in Stuttgart, and twice on exhausting courts at Indian Wells and this yr’s Australian Open.

The 6-1 6-0 defeat in Melbourne was significantly chastening, with Swiatek’s groundstrokes proving too highly effective and exact for Raducanu.

“She will get actually fired up when she performs me – I do not know why that’s however she’s all the time performed rather well,” Raducanu instructed BBC Sport.

“I am undecided if it’s a me factor however each time we now have performed she has been excessive stage.”

Raducanu has improved within the 4 months since they final met, however the best way she was outclassed by world quantity two Coco Gauff on the Madrid clay confirmed the hole she nonetheless has to bridge.

“In opposition to a high quality opponent who is just not going to go away psychologically, that is the place you’re going to see the place Raducanu’s recreation is at,” stated Croft.

“She is aware of she has to come back out and be aggressive in opposition to Swiatek. She will not get away with simply pushing the ball round.

“She might want to get the primary strike in and also will have to get depth – or angle – to attempt to management the purpose.

“If you happen to begin to play catch-up in opposition to Swiatek in a rally you’ll come out second greatest.”