Naomi Osaka is finally back on her favorite surface after going through a long and grueling clay and grass court swing. Her excitement immediately reflected on her face in Toronto when she said, “As soon as my foot touched the hard court, I felt like Sailor Moon, just transforming.” However, despite having a stellar start against Ons Jabeur, she failed to deliver against Elise Mertens. Next up for her is the Cincinnati Open. Here, she has no choice but to grind in the qualifiers!

Osaka playing qualifiers? Well, that’s a bit surprising after seeing a few players refusing to play in recent times. Recently, tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg put up a post making this announcement. He wrote, “Naomi Osaka will play a qualifying match for the first time since February 2018 tomorrow, facing Anna Blinkova in the first round of qualies for WTA 1000 Cincinnati.” However, the focus of the news quickly shifted from Osaka to Emma Raducanu. But why?

Raducanu has been facing flak from the fans for her decision to skip the Toronto and Cincinnati after not receiving MDWCs (main draw wild cards) in both events. Osaka has won four major titles compared to one from Raducanu, but still, she chose to play in the qualifiers. Reason? “I’m playing Cinci and I guess there’s then no other tournament.”

The 26-year-old Japanese tennis star reached the finals here in 2020, and she knows very well that she won’t be playing many matches before the US Open apart from this tournament. So, this is a big opportunity for her to gain some winning momentum. Even, Raducanu has struggled a bit with her fitness and lack of form in the last few months. Getting a few matches under her belt could have done wonders ahead of the US Open, but she chose a different path, and here’s where the fans have all the objections.

With Naomi Osaka playing the qualifiers, fans are now questioning Emma Raducanu’s decision to snub it multiple times

Osaka and Raducanu are two of the big names in the women’s tennis world. However, both have struggled a bit this season. Osaka’s best record has been reaching the QF twice this year in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Qatar. Raducanu has reached one SF and three QFs this season. Despite being a proven champion, Osaka still chose to play the qualifiers to be in a better shape and position ahead of the slam in NY and this is what led the fans to conclude, “Take note Raducanu!“

The Brit is currently ranked 69th in the world and she relied on a main draw wild card entry into the Cincinnati tournament. However, the organizers have awarded them to Caroline Wozniacki, Peyton Stearns, Bianca Andreescu, and Caroline Dolehide. This decision, perhaps, made her a bit disappointed as she chose to skip the event. However, fans took a jibe at her for such an action! One wrote, “And yet Raducanu – a lesser player than Osaka – continues to refuse to play qualies. Thinks she’s better than the riff-raff. Why she’s back in the UK.“

Osaka has a win-loss record of 17-15 (53.1%) and Raducanu has recorded 18-11 (62.1%) in this season. These are not too impressive numbers for either of them, especially if we consider their potential, however taking two different paths to NY made some of the fans say, “Naomi getting the hardworking narrative while Emma refuses to play qualifying“

This isn’t the first time that Raducanu has chosen not to take part in the qualifiers. Previously, she refrained from taking part in the qualifiers of the 2024 French Open citing, “It’s important for me to keep laying on the foundations and I will use the time to do a healthy block before the grass and subsequent hard-court seasons to give myself a chance to keep fit for the rest of the year.” Will we see her at the WTA 250 event in Cleveland now? There’s no confirmation at the moment, but the fans aren’t too pleased with this decision. One of them wrote, “But Radacant thinks she’s too good. Make it make sense.“

Fans are happy to see Osaka taking a different path, but what perhaps might have led to Raducanu getting overlooked at the tourney’s in Toronto and Cincinnati? Well, if we go back a little, Raducanu’s decision to pull out of the Miami Open in March after getting the wildcard and her poor performance in Madrid as a wildcard entrant perhaps added a bit of fuel to the fire. She even turned down a wildcard to play in the Paris Olympics. Seeing the current stands of the Japanese and British tennis star, another one wrote, “Good for her…not afraid to drop down to qualies unlike some…“

Playing only in the events where wildcards are offered is certainly not a long-term approach. This decision may well backfire on her in the near future. We can see the backlash from fans, will Raducanu be able to deliver a performance which will justify her wild cards anytime soon?