Emma Raducanu Reveals Whether She Might Withdraw From Wimbledon as She Continues to Struggle With an Injury

Emma Raducanu crashed out of the Eastbourne International after losing to Maya Joint in three sets in the round of 16.

Emma Raducanu Reveals Whether She Might Withdraw From Wimbledon as She Continues to Struggle With an Injury

Emma Raducanu (via X/The Tennis Letter)

Emma Raducanu has a big problem, which she might not be able to solve ahead of the Wimbledon Championship. The British star crashed out of the Eastbourne International after losing to Maya Joint in three sets in the round of 16. It was her second loss in three matches in the grass-court season.

Raducanu seems to be struggling with a recurring back problem, which first appeared during her second-round clash against Danielle Collins at the Strasbourg Open. The former US Open champion went on to lose the match due to a back problem. It then recurred during her quarter-finals loss against Qinwen Zheng at the Queen’s Club Championships.

She lost in straight sets to the Chinese star ending her run at the tournament. That forced her to withdraw from the Berlin Tennis Open last week. However, this week she decided to compete in Eastbourne for a warm-up ahead of Wimbledon. She began well by coming from behind to beat Ann Li in three sets.

But on Wednesday (June 25), against Joint, the back problem hampered her performance as she crashed out of the tournament after a disappointing 6-4, 1-6, 6(4)-7 loss against the 19-year-old. With just days before Wimbledon kicks off on June 30, struggling with an injury is not the best place for a player to be.

Raducanu could not hide her disappointment after the defeat and admitted during her press conference that the back problem has been troubling since it flared up at the Strasbourg Open. It is now a big concern for her heading into the grass-court Grand Slam tournament:

I’ve just been managing it. Normal fatigue after playing a long match, but, yeah, hopefully I can recover. I still have a few days before Wimbledon so I’m looking forward to recovering, and hopefully it settles. I would say it bothers me. I wouldn’t say it’s like I can’t move. Like a lot of athletes, we all carry kind of something that we’re managing and playing through, but I’d just say that it’s, it’s okay, I can play, and I can still put out some, you know, pretty decent tennis in the situation.

Raducanu is currently working with Andy Murray’s ex-fitness coach Matt Little to find a solution to the back spasm issue. Nonetheless, they just have a few days left before the Wimbledon Championship to figure things out, if not, it might be a major weakness for the British star when the tournament starts on June 30.

Emma Raducanu says she needs to get her head in the game after Eastbourne loss

Emma Raducanu produced a brilliant comeback in the third set but it was not enough to earn the win against Maya Joint. The British No.1 looked dead and buried trailing 2-5 to the youngster but rallied back to force the match to a tie break before eventually losing to the 19-year-old in the end.

Emma Raducanu Miami Open 2025
Emma Raducanu (Image via LTA)

During an interview with the BBC, Raducanu bemoaned herself for not being able to get over the line in the tie against Joint. She added that she needs to do her best to get into the game before Wimbledon:

Unfortunately I couldn’t get over the line today but I can get some rest ahead of next week. 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.

Raducanu reached the fourth round of Wimbledon last year before losing to Lulu Sun. The 22-year-old would hope to achieve the same success at the tournament despite her recurring back problem.

Also Read: Andy Murray Admits He Has No Interest in Attending Wimbledon as a Fan