Emma Raducanu faces a race to be at full fitness for Wimbledon after her preparations were disrupted by injury. She was seen leaving the All England Club wearing a protective boot on her right foot on Wednesday evening, having not practised that day, and she also missed a scheduled training session on Thursday. Her representatives confirmed she has been managing a niggle since her run to the final at the Queen's Club this month.
Raducanu has not competed in the two tournament weeks since that event. Her run at Queen's Club marked just her second final, and biggest, since winning the US Open in 2021, and she played some of the best tennis of her career en route, defeating two top-20 players. However, her campaign was compressed by rain, requiring her to play her quarter-final and semi-final on the same day.
The British player has endured a difficult season, having been sidelined for most of the off season with a foot injury and then contracting a virus in February, which ruled her out for two months between March and May. She had not won a match for three months before Queen's, and her struggles with injury before Wimbledon are well documented: she withdrew from the championships in 2023 after surgery on both wrists and her ankle, and she also struggled with back pain in the buildup to Wimbledon 2024. If she is able to compete, Raducanu will be seeded 30 at this year's tournament, with the draw taking place on Friday at 10am.
Elsewhere, Jack Draper continued his encouraging return to form by reaching the semi-finals at Eastbourne with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Canada's Gabriel Diallo. Draper is competing for the first time in over two months after being sidelined by a bone bruise in his left arm and knee tendonitis. He has found form quickly under the tutelage of Andy Murray, who has joined his team as a coach, and will next face sixth seed Ugo Humbert on Friday.
Three British men have qualified for Wimbledon for the first time in 26 years, with Oliver Tarvet, Max Basing and Billy Harris each winning their third qualifying match in Roehampton. Tarvet, who faced Carlos Alcaraz in the second round last year, became just the third British player to qualify for Wimbledon in back-to-back years by defeating Stefanos Sakellaridis. Harris returned to the main draw with a win over Zhou Yi, while Basing overcame Rémy Bertola.
