Raducanu 'plans to play' at Wimbledon despite injury setback

Emma Raducanu has twice reached the fourth round at Wimbledon

>Britain's Emma Raducanu says she "plans to play" at Wimbledon on Monday despite her participation being put into serious doubt because of a leg injury.

>Raducanu, 23, made the decision to play after a short practice session at the All England Club on Sunday.

>Raducanu, who is seeded 30th, is due to start her campaign against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Court One (13:00 BST).

>"I'm going to do everything with my team in terms of treatment," said Raducanu, who would not put a percentage on her chances of playing.

>Fears about the British number one's fitness grew over the past week.

>Raducanu was spotted wearing a protective boot on Wednesday, then was unable to train on Thursday and Friday because of what is believed to be a shin problem.

>The 2021 US Open champion returned to the court on Saturday to test her fitness and, wearing strapping around her lower right leg, started with a gentle hour-long session with her team.

>But she then cut short another practice session with Russia's Anna Kalinskaya - when the pair played a practice set - with 10 minutes remaining.

>Williams given favourable Wimbledon start - who else plays who?

>Are players already split over prize money protests?

>It is another setback for Raducanu in a career which has been blighted by a series of injury problems since her fairytale US Open victory in New York five years ago.

>This season has been disrupted by a viral illness that meant she only played six matches from early February to the start of Queen's earlier this month.

>Raducanu's run to the Queen's final bred confidence and increased optimism she could have a successful Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round in 2021 and 2024.

>In a news conference at Wimbledon on Sunday, Raducanu said the shin issue was a "niggle" which she had been dealing with for about a month.

>"I've been managing it. Queen's, maybe, was a lot of load for me. Five matches after having not competed for a while, it was just a lot.

>"But I'm just managing it with my team as best as I possibly can, exhausting all options and doing what we can."

>To play or not to play? That is the question racing around Raducanu's mind less than 24 hours before she is due to start her latest Wimbledon campaign.

>Publicly she was trying to portray a positive message when she spoke to the media about 15:30 BST on Sunday afternoon.

>But her attempts to be upbeat barely concealed the fact she is still privately unsure whether the shin injury will stop her playing against Ruzic.

>There were signs of improvement in her practice session on Sunday morning.

>She was slightly less tentative against hitting partner Alexis Canter - particularly when she pushed with her right leg on the forehand side - but it was not as rigorous a test of her movement which she got against Kalinskaya.

>Like any British player, Raducanu does not want to miss Wimbledon for the world.

>She has a game which works well on the grass and thrives off the home support she receives.

>That is why she is willing to push herself and take more risk with the injury in order to step out at the All England Club.