Aksel Kryhlmand
This choice likely means she will miss being seeded at Wimbledon
Injury Management and Strategic Decision
British tennis star Emma Raducanu, currently the new British No. 1, has announced that she will not compete at the Berlin Open next week due to an ongoing back injury. The decision is part of a carefully managed plan to be fully fit for Wimbledon, which begins in early July.
The 22-year-old has been dealing with the issue since playing in Strasbourg in May, just before the French Open. The injury flared up again during her quarter-final loss to Qinwen Zheng at Queen’s Club on Friday, where she required a medical timeout off court.
Raducanu’s Comments
Speaking after her exit from Queen’s, Raducanu explained:
It’s been lingering for the last few weeks, and I’ve had back issues before. I think it’s just a vulnerability of mine. I know I need to take good care of it.
She added that the injury is not a serious concern:
I’m not overly concerned that it’s something serious, but I know it’s something that’s very annoying and needs proper and careful management.
Berlin Open vs Wimbledon
Raducanu had initially opted to play in Berlin, a prestigious WTA 500 tournament featuring nine of the world’s top 10 players, after accepting a wild card entry. She skipped Nottingham to compete there instead.
However, with Wimbledon as the priority, Raducanu and her team decided to pull out of Berlin and focus on rest and rehab.
This choice likely means she will miss being seeded at Wimbledon, but she is hopeful to compete at the Lexus Eastbourne Open, traditionally a key warm-up event, the week before the Grand Slam.
Raducanu’s Recent Form and Wimbledon Outlook
- At Queen’s Club, Raducanu showed strong form despite the injury, defeating Crista Bucsa before losing to Zheng.
- Last year, she had a career breakthrough on grass, defeating Jessica Pegula (then a top-10 player) and reaching the 4th round at Wimbledon.
- She is aiming to match or better that performance this year, with Sky Sports and NOW offering full coverage of her matches.