Radwanska to Miss the 2018 French Open

Former world no.2, Agnieszka Radwanska is set to miss the upcoming French Open Grand Slam after failing to recover from a back injury. She had to retire in her last game against Donna Vekic in the Istanbul Open last month with the same issue and now it has reared its head again to prevent her from playing the clay-court tournament.

This will be the Pole’s first non-participation in a Grand Slam event since 2006, when she made her debut at Wimbledon as a 17-year-old. Since then, Radwanska has been a semi-finalist at the Australian Open and Wimbledon multiple times and even reached the final in 2012 at Wimbledon but eventually lost to American player Serena Williams, but not before putting up a comprehensive fight, taking it to the decider set.

Despite never winning a Grand Slam or reaching World No.1 due to the dominance of Serena Williams, she was always seen as a talented player who could enthral with her play and big forehand winners. She has been consistently in the Top 10 rankings in the world. Currently though, she is ranked 28 in the world and may fall further due to this absence.

Radwanska’s best performance at Roland Garros came when she reached the quarter-finals in 2013, but Italian, Sara Errani halted her in her tracks with a closely-fought straight sets win.

The decision seems to be the right one as playing in a major Grand Slam with an injury is never a good idea and if it aggravates, her career could be threatened. She could use the time off to recuperate and build up her recent wretched form and preparing for the next Grand Slam- Wimbledon in June-July.