Emma Raducanu says she will do everything she can to be ready to compete in her first-round match at Wimbledon on Monday as she continues to nurse a right-foot injury at the end of a nightmarish week of preparation.
Raducanu, the 30th seed, is scheduled to face Antonia Ruzic at 1pm on No 1 Court. Speaking in her rescheduled pre-tournament press conference on Sunday afternoon, Raducanu said: “I’m going to do everything with my team in terms of treatment, and that’s the current plan. That’s the plan right now, to play.”
This has been another bruising week for the 23-year-old, who said she has been dealing with this issue since the end of the clay-court season, when she had only just returned to competition from a two-month layoff due to post-viral illness. After her run to the final of the Queen’s Club tournament at the beginning of the grass-court season, the injury worsened.
While she would have taken time off under other circumstances, Wimbledon is one of the few tournaments where she is willing to push herself to her limits in an attempt to compete. “A lot of players are probably managing things,” she said. “There are certain tournaments you’re willing to do more for, put yourself on the line more for, risk more for. For me, of course, Wimbledon is that. I probably pushed beyond anything that I would for any other tournament. That’s for a fact. It’s just to what extent.”
Raducanu’s excellent run at the Queen’s Club, one of the best weeks of her career, appeared to have set her up perfectly for Wimbledon. Instead, she has yet another injury to reckon with. The British No 1 has had to deal with so many injuries in her short career, and that frustration spilled out after her first-round loss at the French Open in May, where she fought back tears after being asked in her press conference about the mental toll of having to navigate so many injuries.
“It’s been tricky,” she said. “I had a great week at Queen’s Club. All I want to do is to keep building on that momentum. I’ve had a tough start to the season, a lot of time out. Hearing and feeling this is difficult. I have great people around me – that’s one thing that’s really been helping in this latest setback. Having their support, they’re really in it with me. It means a lot to have that.”
After taking Thursday and Friday off from training, things did not look great for Raducanu on Saturday when she ended a planned two-hour practice with Anna Kalinskaya early after struggling to fully load on to her heavily taped right foot. She returned to the courts at Aorangi Park on Sunday and looked far more upbeat working through a one-hour practice with her hitting partner Alexis Canter. However, the session did not involve much movement or any points play.
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“It’s difficult waking up each day, not knowing how it’s going to be,” Raducanu said. “Not knowing whether you’re in or out causes a lot of uncertainty. All I can do is my best every day. That’s what I’m doing, whether that’s the treatments, whether that’s the practice.
“I know I’m putting everything I possibly can into each day. With the people around me, they’re pushing me in the right way. Keeping morale and spirits high is important as well. Even if you’re going through a difficult time, I think allowing yourself to have moments of joy when they do come through is important.”