Emma Raducanu's hopes of making a meaningful run at Wimbledon 2026 are hanging by a thread after the 23-year-old abruptly ended her practice session at the All England Club on Saturday and subsequently cancelled a scheduled press conference.
The British No. 1, seeded 30th, had skipped training entirely on Thursday and Friday due to what is believed to be a shin problem, she was reportedly spotted wearing a protective boot on Wednesday evening. Saturday was meant to be her fitness test ahead of a Monday first-round match against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Court One.
Raducanu appeared on court with heavy strapping around her lower right leg, working through an hour-and-a-half session on the Aorangi Park practice courts and then moving to Court Three to hit with Russia's Anna Kalinskaya. Initially she seemed to manage, but when the session shifted to competitive points, alarm bells rang. She fell 4-0 behind and her body language told its own story, animated conversations with coach Andrew Richardson suggested she was far from comfortable.
With roughly ten minutes still to go, Raducanu called it quits, embraced Kalinskaya, and exited swiftly. Less than half an hour later, Wimbledon organisers announced her afternoon press conference had been moved to Sunday.
The timing is deeply concerning. Raducanu has battled a relentless string of injury setbacks since her stunning 2021 US Open triumph, now five years ago, and a viral illness earlier this year limited her to just six matches between February and Queen's. She reached the Queen's final, losing to Donna Vekic, but that burst of five matches in six days clearly took a toll. Even if she takes the court Monday, her disrupted preparation makes a deep Wimbledon run look difficult. TennisDraw users leaning on Raducanu in their brackets may want to keep a close eye on Sunday's updates.
