Emma Raducanu postponed her pre-Wimbledon press conference after cutting a practice session short, increasing the fears that the British No 1 could be forced to this year’s tournament through injury.
Raducanu has been managing a foot problem since reaching the Queen’s final this month and appeared at the All England Club on Saturday with her right ankle strapped in protective tape.
The 23-year-old took part in a training session at the Aorangi training centre at midday before playing a practice session on Court 3 with world No 20 Anna Kalinskaya at 1pm.
Despite intially appearing in good spirits and moving freely, Raducanu appeared to wrap up the session around 10 minutes earlier than planned after playing, and losing, four games in a row,
Raducanu’s scheduled press conference for later in the afternoon was then rearranged for tomorrow, with the time of her pre-tournament media appearance still to be confirmed.
It appears Raducanu is giving herself as much time as possible to manage the injury, but time is running out ahead of her scheduled first-round match against Croatia’s Antonio Ruzic on Monday.
Raducanu, who could again meet world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round in a repeat of last year, did not turn up for her scheduled practice session on Thursday having reportedly been seen wearing a protective boot the previous evening.
Her team confirmed she is managing a niggle and she did not appear on the practice schedule for Friday, either. Raducanu returned to the court on Saturday but this latest development is another concern.
Raducanu reached her third career final when she impressively battled to the final of Queen’s in front of her home fans in west London, losing the final to former Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic.
Former US Open champion Raducanu made the fourth round of Wimbledon on her debut at the tournament in 2021, and equalled that result in 2024 before losing to Sabalenka in the third round last year.
Raducanu, the 32nd seed at Wimbledon, is scheduled to open play on her favoured Court No 1 at 1pm on Monday, facing the world No 60 Ruzic from Croatia.
