Emma Raducanu’s 2024 Paris Olympics hopes hanging by a very thin thread

Emma Raducanu’s good run at the Nottingham Open may have come too late for the 2024 Paris Olympics as she looks set to miss out on a spot on the Great Britain team.

The 2021 US Open champion finds herself at No 209 in the official WTA Rankings, but she is set for a surge up the rankings after reaching the quarter-final of the WTA 250 event.

Raducanu sits at No 183 in the Live Rankings and she could climb to No 163 if she beats Francesco Jones in the last four while a title run could see her move to as high as No 127.

However, it is unlikely to be enough for selection for the Great Britain team as the cut-off date to determine which players qualify for the Games through their ranking was June 10.

Raducanu admitted in October last year that she was keen to represent Great Britain at the Olympics in future.

“Obviously, the Olympics is such a big thing in sport. I think I could play another four if I really wanted to, so this one isn’t the immediate rush or pressure, it’s just about getting back on the court,” she told the BBC .

“Obviously, the Olympics is such a big thing in sport. I think I could play another four if I really wanted to. So this one isn’t the immediate rush or pressure. It’s just about getting back on the court.”

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The top 56 players in the rankings secured their places at the Olympics and Katie Boulter is the only British player who qualified through her ranking as she is at No 30.

There are five other British players ranked higher than Raducanu with Harriet Dart at No 92, Jodie Burrage at No 104, Yuriko Miyazaki at No 145 and Heather Watson at No 158. Burrage has confirmed she will be out of action for several months due to surgery, but the queue behind her is still long.

Legacy Gold Medallist / Grand Slam Champion Places

There is another possible route to enter the tournament for Raducanu as two spots are on offer to the highest-ranked Olympic gold medallist or Grand Slam champion/s, which are effectively wildcards.

Raducanu as the 2021 US Open winner was in the running along with 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka and three-time major champion Angelique Kerber.

Wozniacki didn’t qualify through her ranking of No 117, but her participation for Denmark has been confirmed so one of the Grand Slam champion spots went to her.

Reigning Olympic champion Belinda Bencic sits at No 94 in the rankings, but she won’t compete as she is on maternity leave.

That left Osaka at No 125 ahead of Raducanu, but the Japanese Olympic Committee has confirmed that the former world No 1 will represent her country in Paris.

However, there is still hope for Raducanu as Osaka could opt to use her protected ranking of 46 to enter the tournament, which would leave another Grand Slam spot available for the Games.