Raducanu plans Wimbledon start despite leg injury concerns

Raducanu plans Wimbledon start despite leg injury concerns LONDON, June 28 : Emma Raducanu plans to play her Wimbledon first-round match on Monday despite injury concerns that had put her participation in doubt, the former U.S. Open champion said. The 23-year-old Briton, who is seeded 30th, is scheduled to face Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Court One. Raducanu made the decision after a brief practice session at the All England Club on Sunday following several days of disrupted preparation. "I'm going to do everything with my team in terms of treatment," Raducanu told reporters in London, adding: "The plan right now is to play". Raducanu, who recently reunited with coach Andrew Richardson, reached the final at Queen's Club two weeks ago but withdrew from the Nottingham Open, raising fitness concerns. She had also been unable to train last week and cut short a practice session on Saturday due to lower-leg discomfort. "I have a lower-leg niggle that I've been dealing with since before Queen's, actually from the back end of the clay court season. I've been managing it," Raducanu said. "Five matches after having not competed for a while, I think it was just a lot of load," she said of her Queen's run. Since her breakthrough 2021 U.S. Open title as a teenage qualifier, Raducanu's career has been disrupted by injuries and illness, alongside frequent coaching changes. Earlier this season she struggled with a post-viral illness and a back problem before losing in the first round at the French Open. "Yeah, it's been tricky. I had a great week at Queen's. All I want to do is to keep building on that momentum," she said. "I've had a tough start to the season, a lot of time out. I think hearing and feeling this is difficult. I have great people around me. I think that's one thing that's really been helping in this latest setback. I think having their support, they're really in it with me. It means a lot to have that." Raducanu missed both the French Open and Wimbledon in 2023 after procedures on her hands and ankle, and also ended last season early due to illness. The Wimbledon tournament runs from June 29 to July 12.