Emma Raducanu faces race to be fit for Wimbledon after missing practice

Emma Raducanu faces a race to be at full fitness for Wimbledon after her preparations for the tournament were disrupted by injury.

On Wednesday evening Raducanu was seen by Clay magazine leaving the All England Club wearing a protective boot on her right foot after not practising that day. She had been scheduled to train at midday on Thursday but did not practise for a second straight day.

Raducanu’s representatives later confirmed that she has been ­managing a niggle since her run to the final at the Queen’s Club earlier this month. She has not competed in the two tournament weeks since that event.

Things had appeared to be going well for Raducanu at the start of the grass court season. Her run to the final at Queen’s marked just her second, and biggest, final since winning the US Open in 2021 and she had played some of the best tennis of her career en route, defeating two top 20 players in Sorana Cirstea and Iva Jovic. Although each of her five matches ended in straight sets, and none of those matches were particularly gruelling, Raducanu played her quarter-final and semi-final matches on the same day due to rain earlier in the tournament.

That run had come after an extremely difficult first half of the season with yet more injury struggles. Raducanu had been sidelined for most of the off season due to a foot injury and she was far from her best level in January. She then contracted a virus in February, which eventually led to her being sidelined for two months between March and May.

Raducanu had not won a match for three months coming into Queen’s but she found her form on the grass, her favourite surface, and in front of a booming home crowd, a result that seemed to set her on the right path. However, she has struggled to remain fit throughout her career and this is merely the latest example of her positive momentum on the practice court being affected by Wimbledon.

This is also not the first time Raducanu has struggled with injury before Wimbledon. She was forced to withdraw from the championships in 2023 after undergoing surgery to both of her wrists and her ankle, and she then struggled with back pain in the buildup to Wimbledon 2024. She was also managing back pain in the buildup to Wimbledon last year.

Raducanu will be seeded 30 at Wimbledon this year if she is able to compete. The draw ceremony takes place at 10am on Friday.