Raducanu faces fresh injury scare ahead of Wimbledon debut
Raducanu’s Wimbledon build-up was jolted by shin discomfort and a cut-short practice as Johanna Konta urged her to build tolerance to adversity.
Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon preparations were shaken again on Saturday when she cut short a practice session because of shin discomfort and had her lower leg strapped, days after withdrawing from the Nottingham Open. She also canceled her pre-tournament press conference, adding to the uncertainty around a 23-year-old who has spent much of her career moving between breakthrough and setback.
The timing was especially awkward with the Wimbledon Championships set to run from June 29 to July 12 at the All England Club. Raducanu arrived at the tournament as the No. 30 seed, with the WTA listing her at world No. 32 and the LTA showing her as British No. 1 in its June 25 update. Her first-round opponent was scheduled to be Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic on Court One on Monday.
The latest scare fits a pattern that has defined Raducanu’s career since her run to the 2021 U.S. Open title as a qualifier. Injury, illness and coaching changes have repeatedly interrupted her progress, even as her results have shown what she can do when healthy. Two weeks ago, she reached the Queen’s Club final in London after reuniting with coach Andrew Richardson, then lost to Donna Vekic 6-0, 7-6(6). That run lifted her back into Wimbledon seeding range and briefly restored momentum before the shin issue surfaced.
Johanna Konta, the former British No. 1 who reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2017 and rose to world No. 4, said the challenge for Raducanu is less about one isolated injury than about handling the accumulation of pressure. Konta retired from professional tennis in December 2021 after becoming a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist and winning Nottingham in 2021. Her point was that elite sport can magnify every physical concern when expectation is already heavy, especially for a player as scrutinized as Raducanu.
Raducanu’s profile still carries the tension of that promise. The WTA lists her career-high singles ranking at No. 10, but her rise has been repeatedly checked by time off the court. That is why Wimbledon has become more than a home major for her. It has become another test of whether she can stay upright long enough for her talent to matter over seven demanding rounds.
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