British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

the addict · Tennis legend

Weeks 18 & 19 - WTA1000 - Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Rome, Italy (clay)

Julia Carrot · All-time great

So Katie get's Osaka in round 2 and Emma gets Gauff in round 3 - ( if they make it that far). Huge tests for both of them.

seagull · Tennis legend

Lys has been in bad form recently and getting slated by the German press it seems

-- Edited by seagull on Monday 4th of May 2026 11:33:32 AM

Var · Challenger qualifying

If you look at the Live race 2026, Katie is ranked 40 and Osaka 52. Maybe not such a big ask? Assuming she steers her way through the first round.

Peter too · Tennis legend

Eva and Katie met in Tokyo last year with Eva winning 2 & 1, so it very much depends on which Eva turns up on the day.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Eva has some nasty auto-immune disease, I believe

So I guess that plays a big part in her ups and downs on court

HarryGem · County player

Coup Droit wrote:
Eva has some nasty auto-immune disease, I believe

So I guess that plays a big part in her ups and downs on court

Eva was out injured for a few weeks and hasn't played much since returning to full fitness. She has also looked very poor in her last match. I think Katie will win quite easily as long as her serve holds up. Against Osaka who knows. Depends if Osaka can be bothered really.

Is Emma actually certain to play? Last I heard she was considering if she was fit enough whilst practicing with Richardson. Wouldn't be surprised if she pulls out. Now very short of match fitness so I wouldn't expect much from her. If she does play Gauff she will find it hard to win more than 3 or 4 games.

paulisi · Tennis legend

Alexis Canter, Emma's normal hitting partner, is playing Nottingham.
I'm not sure if that means anything. Hitters are easy to come by.

Lambda · Masters Series Champion

I think IiRC Emma had booked a practice court with Lys yesterday.

JonH · Tennis legend

Lambda wrote:
I think IiRC Emma had booked a practice court with Lys yesterday.

There was a video on X related to it, Lys brought her sister along to play instead of herself. At least that was the joke.

Peter too · Tennis legend

It looks as if Emma is not due on court until Friday so has a few more days to decide.

PeteM · Improver

Sky Sports News are reporting this evening that Emma has withdrawn.

seagull · Tennis legend

What on earth is going on?

indiana · Tennis legend

seagull wrote:
What on earth is going on?

Post viral problems are likely to be very uncertain.

There may be an argument for just ditching the clay season

But Emma can play well on clay and has 250 points due to drop in the next 5 weeks, which could be very consequential re a potential Wimbledon seeding ( just the first 120 of these has already seen her drop from WR 30 to live ranked 37 ). So if she felt she could maybe play and wanted to, then fair enough. Pity.

-- Edited by indiana on Tuesday 5th of May 2026 06:31:55 PM

Var · Challenger qualifying

indiana wrote:
seagull wrote:
What on earth is going on?
Post viral problems are likely to be very uncertain.
There may be an argument for just ditching the clay season
But Emma can play well on clay and has 250 points due to drop in the next 5 weeks, which could be very consequential re a potential Wimbledon seeding. So if she felt she could maybe play and wanted to, then fair enough. Pity.

-- Edited by indiana on Tuesday 5th of May 2026 06:31:55 PM

Obviously felt after practice sessions she just wasnt well enough. Post viral symptoms sometimes dont show until you try and get back to some kind of normal activity. I imagine she might try Roland Garros and see whether she feels better. If she doesnt then pull out at last minute. Tricky.