Emma Raducanu reveals if she will pull out of Wimbledon amid injury nightmare
Emma Raducanu has a big problem and it may not be easy to solve.
Her recurring back problem appears to be tough to treat and it hampered her once again as she crashed out of the Eastbourne Open after a disappointing 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) defeat against Maya Joint.
Raducanu could not hide her disappointment after the defeat and admitted the back problem that has been troubling her since it flared up in a clay court tournament last month is a big concern heading into Wimbledon.
“I’ve just been managing it,” she said. “Normal fatigue after playing a long match, but, yeah, hopefully I can recover.
“I still have a few days before Wimbledon so I’m looking forward to kind of recovering, and hopefully it settles.
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“I would say it bothers me. I wouldn’t say it’s like I can’t move. Like a lot of athletes, we all carry kind of something that we’re managing and playing through, but I’d just say that it’s, it’s okay, I can play, and I can still put out some, you know, pretty decent tennis in the situation.”
Asked what her plans were before the start of Wimbledon on Monday, she added: “I am going to rest tomorrow. Just yeah, take it day by day. Get some practice in. I think it could be a blessing in disguise, having some rest right now.
“I think I’m looking forward to heading back and then getting on the grass at Wimbledon. I think I will like step on the court regardless.”
This was not the report Raducanu wanted to be giving on the eve of her biggest tournament of the year and you could sense her mood of deflation as she appears to have already concluded that her hopes at Wimbledon may be forlorn.
She has worked to relieve the back spasm issue over the last month, but the help of Andy Murray’s former fitness guru Matt Little has not been enough to find a solution and there have to be real concerns over what comes next for the 22-year-old.
Raducanu suggested earlier this month that she has a weakness in her back that she may have to live with for the foreseeable future, but her two uncomfortable performances in Eastbourne suggest she will not be able to compete at Wimbledon with her back in its current condition.
A long period of rest may be the only solution, but this has been an ongoing concern for Raducanu and unless she can find a way to strengthen her back to relieve this problem, she will have challenges competing at the highest level of the game.
When she is fully fit and firing on all cylinders, Raducanu has proved she can be a threat against top ten players, but her efforts so far in the grass court season suggest she is not physcially capable of reaching the heights she needs to compete with the best.
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