LONDON: Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon preparations were thrown into turmoil after the US Open champion was forced to retire from her Nottingham Open first round match on Tuesday.
Raducanu needed a medical timeout in the early stages of her clash with Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic after suffering an injury.
The 19-year-old Briton received treatment on her left side and took painkillers in an attempt to carry on, but had to pull out after just 33 minutes while trailing 4-3 in the first set.
It was the third time Raducanu had withdrawn from a tournament due to injury since she burst onto the tennis scene with her stunning US Open triumph in September last year.
The world number 11 also bowed out of matches in Guadalajara in February and Rome in May with injuries.
Raducanu is due to play in Birmingham next week, but she has “no idea” if she will be ready for Wimbledon, with the grass-court Grand Slam starting on June 27.
“I think I pulled something. I’m not really sure what exactly happened. An absolute freak injury. I don’t know what I could have done about it,” Raducanu said.
“I need to get a scan first. I am not going to ‘Google doctor’ myself. I will get it checked out. Then we will see from there.
“I have no idea (about Wimbledon). It could have just seized up and gone into spasm and then it is really bad for a few days. I cannot diagnose myself. I will get it checked out.”
The latest retirement will raise further questions about Raducanu’s fitness as she continues to struggle with the physical demands of life on the WTA Tour.
Raducanu, who made her WTA debut at Nottingham 12 months ago, has not won more than two matches at a tournament since her remarkable journey from the qualifying rounds to the title at the US Open.
In her first match on British soil since that astonishing victory at Flushing Meadows, the signs of discomfort were there early on as Raducanu was seen holding her side in the opening game of the match.
Her first round of treatment came at the first change of ends and although she was able to open a 3-1 lead, it was clear she was in pain and called time having lost three games in a row.
Raducanu injured at Nottingham in blow to Wimbledon preparations
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Raducanu injured at Nottingham in blow to Wimbledon preparations
- Raducanu needed a medical timeout in the early stages of her clash with Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic after suffering an injury
- The 19-year-old Briton received treatment on her left side and took painkillers in an attempt to carry on
Man pleads guilty to sending ‘abhorrent messages’ to England women’s footballer Carter
- His admission came after the UK Football Policing Unit launched an investigation last July into abuse directed at Carter
- Dewale is due to be sentenced on March 25
LONDON: A man pleaded guilty Friday to sending “totally abhorrent” social media messages to England women’s defender Jess Carter during last year’s European Championships.
Nigel Dewale with an address at Prospect Street, Great Harwood, northwest England, entered a guilty plea to one charge of malicious communications and possession of a weapon in a private place at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
His admission came after the UK Football Policing Unit launched an investigation last July into abuse directed at Carter.
Dewale is due to be sentenced on March 25.
Mark Roberts, the football policing lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: “Everyone is responsible for what they do and say, and posting a message on social media is no different.
“In this case, Dewale sent hateful and malicious messages, thinking that he would be able to hide behind his account name.
“His comments were totally abhorrent, they caused emotional distress for Miss Carter and her family and I welcome the guilty plea entered today.”
A spokesperson for England’s governing Football Association responded to Dewale’s guilty plea by saying “unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated, whether in person or online.”
The spokesperson added: “Our priority remains supporting Jess and all of our England players who continue to be impacted by disgusting online abuse.”
Writing on her social media accounts at the time the abuse came to light, Carter — who went on to help England win a second successive Euros title — said: “From the start of the tournament I have experienced a lot of racial abuse.
“Whilst I feel every fan is entitled to their opinion on performance and result I don’t agree or think it’s OK to target someone’s appearance or race.”
England forward Lauren James suffered online racist abuse after a defeat for her club side Chelsea in 2023.
England men’s players Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were targeted after they all failed to score penalties in a shoot-out loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final at London’s Wembley Stadium.
