Raducanu Wimbledon hopes in doubt after cutting short practice

Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon build-up was thrown into fresh doubt on Saturday after she cut short a practice set against Anna Kalinskaya and postponed her pre-tournament media duties. The British No. 1 and 30th seed is due to open against Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic on Monday at 1:00pm BST on No.1 Court, but her fitness concerns have become the story around Britain’s marquee tennis event.

Raducanu spent about an hour working with her team on the Aorangi Park practice courts with strapping around her lower right leg before moving on to points against Kalinskaya on Court Three. She stopped that set with about 10 minutes remaining, and less than half an hour later her scheduled press conference was cancelled and pushed back to Sunday. Earlier in the week, she had also been seen wearing a protective boot, adding to the sense that the problem is not a one-off niggle.

The issue matters because Raducanu has barely been able to build rhythm. She did not train on Thursday or Friday, after not booking a court on Tuesday or Wednesday, then returned on Saturday to test herself. The concern is especially acute at Wimbledon, where scrutiny follows every step of her progress and every sign of physical strain is amplified.

Her latest setback comes after one of the best grass-court runs of her career. Raducanu reached the Queen’s final 11 days earlier, losing 6-0, 7-6(6) to Donna Vekic in 1 hour and 48 minutes at the HSBC Championships. That was her first WTA 500 final and her best performance on grass at WTA level, a result that briefly suggested momentum heading into SW19.

Instead, the build-up has again been shaped by fitness questions and a stop-start season. BBC Sport noted that Raducanu had played only six matches from early February to the start of Queen’s because of a viral illness, and she has faced repeated injury problems since winning the US Open in 2021. Andrew Richardson has recently rejoined her camp, returning as the coach who guided her to that title four years ago, but the immediate test is whether Raducanu can take the court on Monday and sustain the demands of a first-round match at Wimbledon.