Emma Raducanu revealed she is still dealing with an ongoing back issue just days away from the start of Wimbledon.
Back spasms have been a recurring problem for the British No.1 and affected Raducanu during the Australian Open and French Open.
The former US Open winner pulled out of last week’s Berlin Open after a recurrence at Queen’s, but the issue was clearly still affecting her as she fell to a three-set defeat against Maya Joint at Eastbourne.
Raducanu faces a quick turnaround before the start of Wimbledon, and the 22-year-old admitted she won’t be 100 per cent fit for the start of this year’s action in SW19.
‘I’ve just been managing it,’ said Raducanu after her 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 defeat to Joint. ‘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 kind of 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.
‘I am going to rest tomorrow. Just yeah, take it day by day. Get some practice in. I think it could be a blessing in disguise, having some rest right now.
‘I think I’m looking forward to heading back and then getting on the grass at Wimbledon. I think I will like step on the court regardless.’
Raducanu showed glimpses of her best tennis as she took the first set on the south coast, but the World No. 38’s lingering fitness issues crept in as she lost 11 of the next 14 games to leave herself on the brink of defeat.
Three impressive breaks of serve almost dragged victory from the jaws of defeat for Raducanu, but the 22-year-old ultimately succumbed in the tie-break.
‘I think I did fight back well in that situation,’ Raducanu said.
‘I think I put myself in that situation to start with, which wasn’t necessarily great, but I did dig it out in the third set, in terms of getting a few live situations of break points coming back.
‘I think it all goes to a bank of experience, and it just keeps the match sharpness ahead of next week.’
Joint, meanwhile, will face Russia’s Anna Blinkova in Thursday’s quarter-final.
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