Raducanu ‘has no idea’ if she will play at Wimbledon after injury

Thursday, 9 June 2022 01:45 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Emma Raducanu retired with injury during the first set

REUTERS: US Open champion Emma Raducanu has no idea if she would be fit to play at Wimbledon, the 19-year-old said after a “freak injury” forced her to retire from her opening match at the WTA 250 event in Nottingham on Tuesday.

Britain’s Raducanu retired when she was a break down at 4-3 in the opening set against Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, nearly half an hour into the match after she suffered what appeared to be a side strain.

Raducanu reached the last 16 at Wimbledon in 2021 but will need a quick recovery to compete at this year’s tournament which will be held from 27 June to 10 July.

“First game, absolute freak. I think I pulled something. I’m not really sure what exactly happened. I just came off court,” Raducanu told British media. Raducanu, who has been without a full-time coach since April, shot to stardom last September when, as a qualifier, she won the US Open title, becoming Britain’s first female Grand Slam champion since Virginia Wade in 1977.

She has, however, suffered a string of fitness issues since winning her maiden Grand Slam title and was eliminated in the second round of the French Open last month.