Emma Raducanu's Wimbledon preparations dealt blow after Berlin Open withdrawal
Injury-hit Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Berlin Open, just over a fortnight out from the Wimbledon Championships.
In the countdown to the HSBC Championships at Queen's, Raducanu had been managing a back problem, but it resurfaced during her 6-2, 6-4 quarter-final defeat by Zheng Qinwen on Friday.
Against the powerful hitting of top seed Zheng, Raducanu had to call a medic to court between sets and had to leave the Andy Murray Arena to have strapping placed on her back. After the loss, Raducanu revealed she needed painkillers to get herself through the match.
Prior to the injury, Raducanu had been planning to travel to Berlin, a grass-court tournament featuring nine of the world's top-10 players, in an attempt to boost her rankings for Wimbledon. Raducanu climbed to 36 in the world rankings following her progress to the quarter-finals at Queen's, but only the top 32 will be seeded at Wimbledon.
By dropping out of Berlin, Raducanu will need a number of other players to withdraw to be awarded a coveted seeded spot at SW19.
However, Telegraph Sport understands she will still be targeting a return to the grass ahead of Wimbledon at Eastbourne, which starts on June 21.
When asked about her injury following the defeat to Zheng, Raducanu said: 'It's been lingering for the last few weeks, and I have had back issues before. It's just a vulnerability of mine. I know I need to take good care of it. I'm not overly concerned that it's something serious, but I know it's something that's very annoying.'
She added: 'I have been struggling with my back since Strasbourg, and it's just been something that's been on and off.
'I have been managing it pretty well over the last few weeks, but I guess as the week goes on and I have played five matches now, like, even if two were doubles, I think, yeah, it just tests it out. And I just felt it, as the load goes up. They took me off court and taped it to give me some extra stability, and some painkillers.'
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