Emma Raducanu has been granted her wish to practice on Court Philippe-Chatrier ahead of her second-round French Open clash with Iga Swiatek.
The British player was allowed an hour on the tournament's main showcourt on Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after criticising Roland Garros organisers for failing to give players enough practice time on the bigger courts.
This will be Raducanu's first appearance on the centre court at Roland Garros as she prepares to face the world No5 and three-time French Open champion on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Brit earned her place in the second round after battling past Wang Xinyu in three sets on Monday, winning 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Emma Raducanu will face French Open champion Iga Swiatek on Wednesday
Reuters
Swiatek played her routine first-round victory against Rebecca Sramkova on the same court and is likely to be scheduled there again as defending champion.
Raducanu's preparation comes after health concerns during her first-round match, where she required a medical timeout.
Officials monitored her blood pressure and checked her heartbeat with a stethoscope during the opening set, with the player using ice to cool herself down.
Despite these issues, she managed to win the remaining games of the first set before eventually securing victory in the decider.
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Raducanu had also suffered a back spasm during her final preparation match against Danielle Collins in Strasbourg.
The Brit faces a formidable challenge against Swiatek, having lost all four of their previous encounters.
Their most recent meeting at this year's Australian Open resulted in a crushing 6-1, 6-0 defeat for Raducanu.
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Emma Raducanu will face Iga Swiatek in the second round of the French OpenREUTERSDespite a promising clay court season with several confidence-boosting wins before arriving at Roland-Garros, Raducanu will enter the match as a significant underdog given Swiatek's prowess on the Parisian clay.
Following her first-round victory, Raducanu had highlighted the restricted access players were given to showcourts at Roland Garros.
"I honestly think it's really difficult, because the tournament don't really help in terms of getting you court time on the bigger courts or on like the match courts, really," Raducanu said.
"I feel like, I don't know, certain players get preferred treatment. It isn't easy. I wish they would give us more opportunities on stadium or bigger courts, especially if we're going to play on them."
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Emma Raducanu was thrashed in her last appearance against Iga Swiatek
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Raducanu had not won a match in the French capital since 2022 and missed last year's tournament due to injury.
However, the former US Open champion has shown promising form on clay this season.
With the additional practice time on Court Philippe-Chatrier now granted, Raducanu will hope to be better prepared for the challenge of facing Swiatek, though she remains the underdog against the Polish star who is seeking her fourth French Open title.
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