Emma Raducanu accepts wildcard as French Open plans take new twist

Emma Raducanu has accepted a wildcard into next week's WTA 500 event in Strasbourg as final preparation for the French Open.

The British No.2 is up to world No.42 in the live WTA rankings after winning three matches at the Rome Masters.

And after her last 16 defeat to world No.3 Coco Gauff, Raducanu said she wanted more match action before Paris.

Now the Internationaux de Strasbourg, which starts in Alsace on Sunday, has invited her to join a field which already includes top 10 stars Jessica Pegula, Paula Badosa and Emma Navarro.

The French Open - the second Grand Slam of the season - starts at Roland Garros on May 25.

Speaking after her defeat to Gauff, Raducanu told Sky Sports: "I would love to just keep improving, keep playing. I think that's a positive for me.

"I don't want to go and hide in a hole somewhere, I want to get back out there, so that's good.

"We'll see how it goes in the next week before the French, if I get into Strasbourg. But, for now, I've played a good 12 days on the trot, so I'm looking forward a day off or so and then getting back to it."

Raducanu also admitted in her post-match press conference that she had to develop a more aggressive approach to beat top players. She has only ever beaten one top-five player - Jessica Pegula in Eastbourne last summer.

"I think I've taken the lessons that I need to, like, for me to have success, I need to keep swinging, committing to my forehands," she said. "The first three rounds, I had a lot of success doing that.

"I think I also need to just work on, like, for me to see the ball today that I was receiving was really valuable. I haven't really played these top opponents very often because I haven't been in the tournaments for long enough.

For me to be kind of playing them now is good exposure. I can take lessons, in practice try to replicate certain balls that are really heavy, really shaped, unpredictable.

"I think I've been trying to work so much on just the basics of trying to develop a weapon for some shorter balls that I have to finish, to use some finesse. I think I need to run up to them and learn how to do something with that, as well."