Emma Raducanu to play through the pain at Wimbledon

Emma Raducanu plans to play through the pain in her first-round match at Wimbledon, despite the very real danger that she could aggravate an ongoing leg injury.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since she played the Queen’s final a fortnight ago, Raducanu admitted that she had been light on court time since that tournament.

But she also said that she was prepared to risk further damage to her body on Monday, and beyond, because of the importance of this event.

“There are certain tournaments you’re willing to do more for, put yourself on the line more for, risk more for,” Raducanu explained. “For me, of course, Wimbledon is that.

“I don’t think any doctor can tell me I’m not going to make it worse. I just have to be aware of the risks I’m taking stepping out on to the court, weighing up if I’m willing to do that.”

Having alarmed her fans by cutting practice short on Saturday, Raducanu scheduled a lighter session on Sunday: an hour on court with her hitting partner Alexis Canter.

Amid the bustle of Aorangi Park – the busy training area at the top of the Wimbledon site – Raducanu hit some serves, some returns, and some “plus-one” shots, tennis jargon for the third shot of a rally.

She was striking the ball fluently, but over the course of the hour she did not do a great deal of moving from side to side. She was still wearing strapping on the lower part of the right shin.

Her mood, to all appearances, looked upbeat as she laughed and joked with her team. But Antonia Ruzic, the Croatian world No 60, whom she is due to face in the first round, is the sort of player who will put a lot of balls in court and make her cover a lot of ground.

“I have a lower-leg niggle that I’ve been dealing with since before Queen’s, actually from the back end of the clay-court season,” Raducanu said. “I’ve been managing it. That week [where she played three matches in 28 hours] was a lot of load for me, after not having competed for a while.

“Yesterday I played for an hour before playing with Anna [Kalinskaya, the world No 24]. I think everyone knows I took a few days off, I didn’t practise. [On Saturday] I was just a little bit tentative, I’d say, hesitant. Today I did feel better on the court, so that’s a positive sign.”

It does seem surprising that Raducanu’s physical condition has deteriorated during a two-week period when she was not even competing, but then she has always struggled to cope with the physical side of tennis.

Last season now looks like an anomaly, in that Raducanu played at least two matches in every month of the year from January until October, racking up 50 appearances in all. Otherwise, her annual match tallies have never extended beyond the mid-30s.

“It’s difficult waking up each day, not knowing how it’s going to be,” Raducanu said, when asked about this latest setback. “Not knowing whether you’re in or out causes a lot of uncertainty.

“All I can do is my best every day. That’s what I’m doing, whether that’s the treatments, whether that’s the practice. With the people around me, they’re pushing me in the right way. Keeping morale and spirits high is important as well. Even if you’re going through a difficult time, I think allowing yourself to have moments of joy is important.”

As for the specific challenge of facing Ruzic, in Monday’s first slot on No 1 Court at 10am, Raducanu thought back to their most recent meeting: a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 defeat in Dubai in mid-February. She faded physically in the third set, during a period when she was afflicted by some sort of respiratory virus.

“I think if I give her time on the ball, she’s very dangerous,” Raducanu said. “She actually served great that day, too. [But] I think I’ve come a long way in my game since Dubai. I think I played really well at Queen’s. I have a lot of confidence in myself. I know I need to be in a good position physically to be able to take her on.”