Emma Raducanu ended her Wimbledon practice early on Saturday, saw her lower right leg heavily strapped, and cancelled a planned press conference—moves that intensify concerns over her fitness ahead of her Monday first-round match.
Emma Raducanu walked off Wimbledon courts with her lower right leg heavily strapped, cut her practice session short and then cancelled her planned press conference—steps that have immediately shifted the focus from preparation to protection as Wimbledon approaches.
The British No 1 is managing a lower-leg injury and practised at the All England Club for the first time since Monday. She was scheduled to speak to the media at tea time on Saturday. but after ending her second hitting session 10 minutes early. it was announced she would delay the pre-tournament press conference until Sunday.
That extra 24 hours matters. It suggests Raducanu is buying time to monitor how the injury responds before deciding whether she is ready for her first-round match on Monday.
On Saturday, she began with an hour on court with coach Andrew Richardson and hitting partner Alexis Canter. Her lower right leg was strapped for the session. She completed the work, but she did pause to receive treatment from her physio, Emma Stewart.
The second session was booked on No 3 Court against No 19 seed Anna Kalinskaya. Raducanu was in a practice set where Kalinskaya led 4-0 when Raducanu shook her head to Richardson and cut the session short with 10 minutes to go. Kalinskaya gave her a hug as she left the court.
Raducanu is due to face Croat world No 60 Antonia Ruzic on Monday. The issue she is managing has been exacerbated by what happened during her run to the final at Queen’s Club at the start of June. She has not played since that Queen’s run and chose not to push through a busy lead-up. withdrawing from Nottingham last week and declining the option of taking a wildcard into this week’s Eastbourne Open.
Her absence from the Wimbledon practice schedule had stretched back to Monday. That does not rule out extra sessions elsewhere, but when she left the All England Club on Wednesday evening, she was spotted wearing a protective boot on her right foot.
There was certainly an obvious contrast between Raducanu’s ball-striking and her movement during Saturday’s work. Observers described problems with her strike during both practice sessions, with her not moving completely freely and appearing not to bend as low down to the ball as she normally does.
The injury story is layered over a longer disruption. Raducanu. 23. had started her grass-court season strongly by reaching the final at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club. where she lost to Donna Vekic. That match ended 6-0. 7-6. and after the defeat Raducanu said: “I have just been dealing with a few niggles over the past few weeks.”.
The season around Wimbledon has already been rough, with her time away from the tour coming primarily from a viral illness rather than injury. Before Queen’s, she played only 16 matches this year, and the Wimbledon build-up has carried the weight of what she produced in that remarkable Queen’s run.
Her rehiring of Andrew Richardson—the coach who guided her to the US Open title in 2021—helped raise expectations ahead of Wimbledon. But Saturday’s early exit from practice. the heavy strapping. the delayed press conference and the visibly limited movement have all made one question unavoidable: whether Raducanu can be fully ready for Monday’s first-round match against Antonia Ruzic.
Emma Raducanu Wimbledon tennis news lower-leg injury Anna Kalinskaya Antonia Ruzic Andrew Richardson Alexis Canter Emma Stewart Queen's Club Donna Vekic