Emma Raducanu: I need to manage back injury in lead-up to Wimbledon

Times

13 hours ago

Emma Raducanu admitted she would need 'proper and careful management' of her back pain before Wimbledon after her Queen's Club campaign came to a tame end against Qinwen Zheng in the quarter-finals.
The gap in level between Raducanu and the very best players in the world was evident once again at the HSBC Championships on Friday. She was outclassed by the world No5 Zheng 6-2, 6-4, her 12th defeat in 13 matches against opposition ranked inside the top eight.
Raducanu's back injury flared up once again midway through the match when she required an off-court medical timeout for treatment and painkillers. Frankly, though, even if she had been fully fit, it would have been tough to overcome the power of Zheng, the Olympic champion, who hit 21 winners to Raducanu's nine.
It would be a stretch to claim that Raducanu is a serious injury doubt for Wimbledon in a little more than two weeks' time, but clearly it is not ideal that she is struggling to shake off an issue that has persisted for some time now. She has suffered two separate back spasms in the past three weeks.
'It's been lingering for the last few weeks, and I have had back issues before,' Raducanu said. 'I think 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 and needs proper and careful management.
'I have been struggling with my back since Strasbourg [last month], 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, even if two were doubles. I think it just tests it out and I just felt it as the load goes up.'
It is likely that this has brought an end to the chance of a seeding for Raducanu at Wimbledon. Her last opportunity to earn ranking points before the deadline of June 23 is at next week's German Open in Berlin, but she is not sure if she will be able to compete so soon after Queen's. She is at a projected No36, with seedings going to those inside the top 32.
'I don't know,' Raducanu replied when asked if she would play in Berlin. 'I need to think about that and see how it settles and recovers over the next few hours.'
Raducanu was bidding to reach her first semi-final since this time last year at the Nottingham Open, but there were signs midway through the opening set that she was feeling some discomfort in her back. Zheng took advantage by repeatedly applying pressure with her hard-hitting serve and groundstrokes for a 4-2 lead.
Struggling to impose with her serve, Raducanu conceded a second break for the set when she hit a forehand into the net despite Zheng slipping on the other side. A tournament physio then appeared to work on Raducanu's back before she headed off court for a full medical timeout.
The delay in play appeared to disrupt Zheng's momentum and she hit a double fault to gift a break to Raducanu in the first game of the second set. The painkillers had also clearly kicked in as Raducanu was now moving freely on the court before breaking serve once again for 3-0.
The resurgence did not last long, however. Zheng claimed one of the two breaks back and Raducanu failed to hold on to her 4-2 lead, with a double fault allowing her Chinese opponent to level at 4-4. As if serving had not been challenging enough because of her back pain, gusts of wind were also proving a nuisance with a thunderstorm slowly approaching west London.
Serving to stay in the match at 5-4 down, Raducanu hit a seventh double fault to give Zheng three match points at 0-40. Although Zheng missed three consecutive returns, she eventually converted a fourth match point when Raducanu hit long.
'It was a tough match,' Raducanu said. 'I think Qinwen played really well and served well. She took one of my bigger strengths away, which is my return. That was difficult. She found some good spots when she needed to. She played a high-level match, as well.
'I had a lot of joy playing here at Queen's. I think the crowd was amazing. The support the whole way through for every match, that was really enjoyable for me. To get some matches on the grass is very different to the clay. To start to adapt to this surface, I think I can take what I need from this week and move forward.'
There was a shock result in the second quarter-final when the 37-year-old German qualifier Tatjana Maria defeated the 2022 Wimbledon champion and world No11 Elena Rybakina. Maria, who is ranked No86 in the world, outfoxed her opponent with some clever slicing and dicing for a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) victory and now goes on to play the Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who battled back to defeat Russia's Diana Shnaider 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The draw for next week's men's event at Queen's takes place on Saturday. Carlos Alcaraz is expected to take his place as the top seed after his French Open triumph last week, while the No2 seed Jack Draper is already on site practising. Main draw wild cards have been given to Dan Evans, Billy Harris and Cameron Norrie.