French Open: Controversy Erupts as Emma Raducanu, Dominic Thiem and Simona Halep Brutally Snubbed for Local Stars

The second Grand Slam tournament of the season is fast approaching. Top players across the globe are preparing hard to shine at the clay-court major event. Like every other Grand Slam event, the French Open also offers several wildcard spots where players ranked lowly get direct entry into the main draw. However, there was a massive controversy caused when the French Open announced the wildcards.

While every major event supports the local players, Roland Garros has taken it to a whole new level. Barring the wildcard spots available to Tennis Australia and USTA, all the other spots went to the local French Stars. As a result, players like Dominic Thiem, Emma Raducanu, and Simona Halep missed a direct entry into the main draw of the tournament. They’ll have to play in the qualifying rounds to make it to the main draw.

The women’s singles wildcard spots went to A. Cornet, F. Ferro, E. Jacquemot, K. Mladenovic, C. Paquet, and J. Ponchet, who are all from France. The remaining two spots had A. Tomljanovic of Australia and S. Vickery of the US as wildcards. On the men’s side, the draws were T. Atmane, R. Gasquet, P-H. Herbert, H. Mayot, G. Mpetshi Perricard, A. Muller. And A. Walton of Australia and N. Moreno de Alboran of America are wildcards.

Even before the start of the French Open, the tournament has landed in soup with the wildcards’ announcement. This is not the only update about the French Open that has caught the eyes of the tennis world. Ahead of the start of the event, there was a major doubt cast over the participation of big names.

French Open hit by an injury cloud

History speaks that the French Open is one of the most difficult tournaments in the tennis calendar. It requires the players to be at the peak of their physical and mental prowess as the matches can get taxing here. As a result, the participation of players like Jannik Sinner, Rafael Nadal, and Aryna Sabalenka has been thrown in limbo.

Sinner has missed the ongoing Italian Open due to a hip injury. Additionally, according to various reports, it is unlikely that Sinner will play at Roland Garros. On the other hand, Nadal hasn’t returned to full fitness and is unsure whether he’ll play in Paris. Sabalenka was the latest player to suffer an injury blow as she was spotted having back problems during her match against Elina Svitolina in Rome.

Thus, if these players miss out, it will significantly affect the sheen of the tournament. Do you think the likes of Nadal and Sinner can shrug off injury concerns and play at the French Open? Let us know your views in the comments below.