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Emma Raducanu hoping to get her head right in time for Wimbledon

Emma Raducanu hoping to get her head right in time for Wimbledon

Raducanu almost pulled off an incredible comeback in her second-round match against Maya Joint before losing on a final-set tiebreak.
The 22-year-old revealed on Tuesday after her opening round win that she had received 'some pretty bad news' and that appeared to affect her against Joint as she looked subdued on court.
Magical Maya 🔮
Joint takes down Raducanu 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4)!#LexusEastbourneOpen pic.twitter.com/S3a9T0aO4F
— wta (@WTA) June 25, 2025
With her home grand slam around the corner, Raducanu says she needs to focus.
'Unfortunately I couldn't get over the line today but I can get some rest ahead of next week,' she told the BBC.
'I feel quite tired. Just going through some stuff and I need to do my best to get my head in the game ahead of next week.
'Realistically, the turnaround is pretty soon – it's only four days away really that Wimbledon starts.
Emma Raducanu loses out to Maya Joint in an Eastbourne thriller
Onto @Wimbledon we go #BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #LexusEastbourneOpen pic.twitter.com/PYUdzQaMMM
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 25, 2025
'I think I'm just going to start with (a day off) tomorrow and then hopefully I can get on the court on Friday.'
The British number one looked dead and buried in her second-round battle with the Australian, trailing 5-2 in the deciding set.
But she produced an inspired spell, breaking Joint three times when she was serving for the match, to set up a tie-break.
Victory was in sight when she got a mini-break to lead 4-3 but Joint reeled off four successive points to claim a 4-6 6-1 7-6 (4) victory and move into the quarter-finals.
Joint said: 'Today was really tough, there was a lot of ups and downs, I was happy I was able to tough it out at the end.
'I am really glad I was able to win this match.'
Jodie Burrage become the second Briton in two days to miss match points to oust former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Twenty-four hours after Harriet Dart spurned victory, Burrage, the British number seven, was 0-40 up on the Czech's serve at 6-5 in the deciding set, but she could not get over the line, with Krejcikova winning the tie-break.
In the men's draw, Dan Evans' recent upturn in form continued with a standout win over world number 13 Tommy Paul.
The 35-year-old is trying to find his way back to the top of the game after slumping down the ranking and results like this will help.
He ousted the number two seed 6-4 3-6 6-3 to set up a quarter-final tie with American Jenson Brooksby.
Lucky loser Billy Harris continued to take advantage of his reprieve, winning 6-3 6-4 against Mattia Bellucci, but British number two Jacob Fearnley is out, losing 6-3 6-1 to Marcos Giron.

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Wimbledon 2025: Carlos Alcaraz and the art of court positioning
Wimbledon 2025: Carlos Alcaraz and the art of court positioning

BBC News

time24 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Wimbledon 2025: Carlos Alcaraz and the art of court positioning

Whether it is forehand, backhand or a slice, knowing what type of shot to play and when is key to winning tennis so too is a player's position on the court - with the very best in the world knowing where to be to anticipate a return, or to gain a few more valuable seconds to plan their next are better masters of this art than Carlos Alcaraz, who is proving to be one of the most complete players on the tour at the won the French Open in his final match of the clay season, the 22-year-old Spaniard transitioned to grass seamlessly by winning Queen's for the second time last sets him up perfectly for the pursuit of a third title in a row at Wimbledon, where his dominance of the court will once again come to the fore."He is so exciting," former British number one John Lloyd told BBC Sport."He is so quick, lightning quick, groundstrokes are huge both sides. He has one of the best volleys on the tour, his serves are getting better and better."He is a showman and a great entertainer." From all over to behind the baseline - the evolution of play To understand a bit more about why five-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz is so good it is worth checking back on how tennis has changed over the styles have gone from almost every part of the court being covered by a player to the game now being predominantly fought out from behind the improvements in grass maintenance will undoubtedly have played a part, this evolution can be seen in images from Wimbledon over the years, with more patches of wear evident on more areas of the grass in the 1970s and 1980s compared to more recent statistics that show the decline of the serve-and-volley game do seem to correspond with the changes to where grass wear at Wimbledon can be 2002, serve-and-volley points in the men's draw accounted for 32.6% of total service points won, but by 2018 that figure was down to 6.93%.Evolution of the equipment used will have contributed to this eventual drop, with the development of modern racquets and strings making it easier to hit powerful groundstrokes from the baseline. 'He takes the tour to new levels' - how Alcaraz dominates the court The above detail is relevant because Alcaraz has shown he is adept at both styles of last year's men's final at Wimbledon, the old and the new guard were matched up for the second year in a row as Alcaraz faced 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Alcaraz dictated play with his speed and movement, causing Djokovic to lose confidence in his ability to live with his opponent from the back of the court and instead rush to the was a trap that worked as Djokovic won just 50.9% of his points at the net, compared to 72.7% for the younger man was just as strong when staying on the baseline where once again his quick movement and powerful ball striking was too much for Djokovic, who was placed under near constant pressure by Alcaraz."In that final, Djokovic was only able to generate three break points and won one, whereas Alcaraz was able to generate 14 break points and won five, so there was constant pressure on him," says Craig O'Shannessy, tennis analyst and founder of Brain Game Tennis, who has worked with Djokovic."And from the ground stroke department Alcaraz had too much firepower from the back, hitting 21 forehand winners while Djokovic hit six."With the backhand, Alcaraz hit 10 winners compared to three for Djokovic. The offence was very much controlled by Alcaraz in that final." Alcaraz's dominance of the court was once again on show at Queen's and, at 22, he has already won four grass-court titles - as many as compatriot Rafael Nadal secured in his of course, was the 'King of Clay' given his brilliance on that surface, but Alcaraz is showing proficiency on all court types."It is never a letdown with this player," said former British number one Andrew Castle, who was commentating on the Queen's tournament."Expectation every time he plays is always high and it is just supreme performances lately week in and week out.""His movement is incredible," adds O'Shannessy."His acceleration from the first two or three steps helps him get to balls other players can't, and then also his recovery out of the shot is incredibly fast as well."When I saw him up close and personal for the very first time, I was blown away. I didn't think people could move that well on a tennis court."He takes the tour to new levels with what's possible with movement on a court." Video analysis and warm-up tricks - getting the edge on an opponent Being able to anticipate a player's movement on the court and the type of shots they will probably play is key to securing victory, which is why someone as unpredictable as Alcaraz is so hard to play players fall into familiar patterns of play and studying those becomes important in attempting to secure the edge."Gabriel Diallo is a guy I work with and he was playing in Majorca recently, and for his match with Jaume Munar I sent a detailed game plan to him on how to face him," says O'Shannessy."Things I'll usually show will include where the serve's going, what kind of serve he likes to hit, and then where on the court he's more vulnerable to make errors, particularly forehand errors. Because they happen more often than anything else."Another important battleground can be the warm-up. Rather than being - as it may seem to those watching - just two players getting ready for the match, it also presents an opportunity to see how the opponent will react to certain types of shots."In the warm-up you may want to disguise the type of shots you want to hit," adds O'Shannessy.'I think it's probably more of an advantage at the club level because you don't necessarily know the opponent or have scouting on them."So it's a really good time to hit them some different balls, some high balls, some low balls, some fast balls, some slice, and then monitor where they hit that." Can anyone stop Alcaraz? Alcaraz heads to Wimbledon looking to complete a hat-trick of titles and, having won his past 18 matches in a row, he is in a strong position to do just number one Jannik Sinner - who lost out to Alcaraz in an epic French Open final earlier this month - will be looking to stop him, as well as Djokovic, the runner-up in the past two Wimbledon they will know they face a tough task against a player in form."When he's on it, he is the most complete player of his age I have ever seen," Lloyd says of Alcaraz."You look at him already and he's the finished package."Castle is similarly impressed, adding: "He is setting new standards along with Jannik Sinner, the current number one."The game is in good hands."

Only a British finalist, or his children, will bring Murray to Wimbledon this year
Only a British finalist, or his children, will bring Murray to Wimbledon this year

Reuters

timean hour ago

  • Reuters

Only a British finalist, or his children, will bring Murray to Wimbledon this year

June 26 (Reuters) - Andy Murray said he has no plans to attend Wimbledon this year unless a British player makes the final, or his children want to go. Murray, who won two of his three major titles at Wimbledon and ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's singles champion at the grass-court Grand Slam in 2013, said he rarely attends tennis matches as a fan. "I don't have any plans to go," Murray, who lifted the title again in 2016, told British media. "I'm not working there. I don't go to watch tennis as a fan. But if one of my kids wanted to go along and watch, I obviously would take them. If a British player made the final I'd go. "I went to the Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz final a couple of years ago, just because I had a feeling it was going to be a great match. But I won't be there otherwise." Murray, who will be immortalised with a statue during Wimbledon's 150th anniversary in 2027, ended his playing career after the Paris Olympics before joining the coaching team of 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic ahead of the Australian Open. That partnership failed to yield any trophies and ended before the French Open. Murray said British men's tennis was in good hands and he expected Jack Draper to cope with the added pressure after winning at Indian Wells in March and climbing the rankings to fourth in the world. Draper will be seeded fourth when the Wimbledon main draw begins on Monday. "It'll be a little bit different this year coming in as a top seed but he'll deal with it well," Murray said. "He's played in difficult environments and under pressure before, and I'm sure he'll cope with it well."

Doubles champion Patten 'OK about not being recognised'
Doubles champion Patten 'OK about not being recognised'

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

Doubles champion Patten 'OK about not being recognised'

Defending Wimbledon men's doubles champion Henry Patten is happy to remain out of the limelight compared to his fellow British singles and partner Harri Heliovaara have won two Grand Slam doubles titles in the past 12 months, at Wimbledon 12 months ago and the Australian Open in pair return to defend their title at the All England Club next week, and the 29-year-old from Colchester is philosophical about the relative lack of attention he receives."If Jack Draper goes and wins a couple of Grand Slams, then that's a much bigger deal and I am completely OK with that, " he told BBC Look East."I am completely OK about being able to walk down streets and not being recognised. But more people are coming up to me and asking for an autograph and a chat which I really enjoy engaging with." Patten doubled his career prize money in a fortnight alongside Heliovaara last year, when they beat Australian 15th seeds Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in the final on Centre Court."It's surreal, it feels like yesterday, I don't think it's sunk in," Patten admitted."At the end of tournaments it's very quiet but when we go back there it's going to be carnage because it will be so much busier. But I can't wait for my first hit on the grass again."It will hit me when I see my name on the winners' board. I'll go and see the trophy again and it'll bring back lots of great memories."Patten's success with Heliovaara in Melbourne proved their Wimbledon title was no pair defeated Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori after more than three hours on court, the match finishing at 2:00am."I'm so pleased we backed Wimbledon up," said Patten."I had to keep taking coffee all night. By 1:00am people had started to filter out but we had some loyal supporters left."It cemented us near the top of the world rankings." Choosing tennis over accountancy Patten's life could have been very different. After studying finance at university in the United States, he was offered a job with Ernst & Young during the Covid pandemic. But he was also given an opportunity to play a few professional tennis tournaments and chose that route instead. "Thank God I made that decision," he said. "I am so relieved I did.""I remember I played in India at some 15k events to start with and it's been quite a journey."He joined forces with Heliovaara in April last year and they won their first ATP title together in Marrakech."We get along really well," said Patten."As a tennis player you talk a lot with your partner and we are best friends. That's the secret."Patten's two Grand Slam trophies are kept on the top shelf at home and admits they badly need a polish as he pursues the target of becoming the world's number one ranked doubles player."It's been a wild ride," he added."We are trying to keep pressing on and are hunting the world number one spot [together] and I am currently three."There will be high pressure to defend the trophy, but I am incredibly excited. There are lots of ranking points to defend but my name will always be there however we do."

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