Emma Raducanu faces Wimbledon risk: leg injury and Antonia Ružić test in the first round on London grass

Emma Raducanu wants to play Wimbledon despite injury: "The plan is to compete" against Antonia Ružić

Emma Raducanu intends to compete at Wimbledon 2026 despite a problem with her right leg that disrupted the final days of her preparations for the third Grand Slam of the season. According to The Guardian's report from the press conference held on Sunday, June 28, the British tennis player said that the current plan is to go out on court and play the first-round match against Antonia Ružić. According to Wimbledon's official draw and tournament schedule, the duel is scheduled for Monday, June 29, on No. 1 Court at the All England Club in London. Raducanu is the tournament's 30th seed, while Ružić arrives in London as one of the players who have shown during the season that they can seriously threaten better-known names. The health condition of the former US Open champion is therefore one of the more important stories ahead of the start of the women's main draw.

Ahead of the tournament, Raducanu completed a lighter training session, but her preparations were not typical for a player expecting to compete at a Grand Slam. British media reported that she missed part of her training during the week, that she cut one session short and that her previously planned media obligation had been postponed. According to Sky Sports, the problem concerned the lower part of her right leg, and concern over her fitness increased after she had earlier been seen with an orthopedic boot and a bandage. The Guardian reported that Raducanu trained at a lighter intensity on Sunday and that the session served as a late fitness check, but without the full load that would otherwise be expected immediately before the start of the tournament.

An injury that changed the final stage of preparations

According to The Guardian, Raducanu explained that she had been dealing with the issue since the closing part of the clay-court season, and that the condition worsened after her appearance at the WTA tournament at Queen's Club. There she reached the final, which was one of her most positive results in recent seasons, but the run of matches in a short period evidently left a physical mark. In the final of the HSBC Championships, according to official WTA data, she lost to Donna Vekić 6:0, 7:6(6). The WTA also stated that Vekić won her first WTA 500-level title, while Raducanu, despite the defeat, left London with confirmation that her game on grass can once again be highly competitive.

That is exactly why her current dilemma is more complex than the usual question of whether a player can get through one match. Raducanu entered the grass-court season with renewed confidence, and the final at Queen's Club also gave her an important competitive rhythm. Still, the injury ahead of Wimbledon changes the balance between ambition and caution. According to The Times, Raducanu admitted that she must be aware of the risk she is taking by stepping onto the court. She stressed, however, that there are tournaments for which an athlete is prepared to accept a higher degree of uncertainty, and Wimbledon is precisely such an event for the British tennis player.

In recent seasons, Raducanu has often faced interruptions to her rhythm because of health problems, which further explains the caution surrounding her appearance. The Guardian notes that earlier this season she had a two-month break because of a post-viral condition, after which she returned to competition and gradually raised the level of her game. For a player who sensationally won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier, continuity has since been as important a challenge as the quality of her tennis itself. According to WTA and LTA data, Raducanu remains the highest-ranked British tennis player, but her path after the biggest title of her career has been marked by periods of recovery, changes in her team and the search for a stable competition schedule.

Ružić is not an opponent to be underestimated

The first-round opponent further increases the sporting weight of the encounter. Antonia Ružić, a 23-year-old tennis player from Croatia, according to her official ITF profile ahead of Wimbledon, was among the players close to the best ranking of her career, while WTA statistics state that her career-high ranking was No. 51. Ružić is a right-handed player, and her entry into the Wimbledon main draw against a seed gives her the opportunity for a result that would have a greater international impact. Although Raducanu has more Grand Slam experience and a title from the biggest stage, the current health question may narrow the gap that would exist on paper between the seed and the lower-ranked player.

An important detail is also their previous head-to-head meeting. According to the official WTA record from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2026, Ružić defeated Raducanu in February 6:1, 5:7, 6:2. That result does not have to directly predict the outcome on grass, because the conditions in Dubai and at Wimbledon are significantly different, but it shows that Ružić does not enter the match without experience against Raducanu. For the Croatian tennis player, the match on No. 1 Court will also be a test of adapting to one of the most visible settings in world tennis. For Raducanu, on the other hand, the first challenge will be whether she can move well enough to use the advantage of the faster surface and the support of the crowd.

The draw further places emphasis on the early part of the tournament. According to Wimbledon's official PDF draw, the winner of the Raducanu - Ružić match goes into a section of the draw that includes Jelena Ostapenko and Harriet Dart, while the broader layout of that segment also includes top seed Aryna Sabalenka. This means that Raducanu would not have much room to ease gradually into the tournament if she gets through the first round. Already in the first days, she could face opponents who attack powerfully and look for short points, which can be especially demanding for a player with a leg problem. For that reason, the decision to compete is not only a question of one match, but also an assessment of whether the body can withstand a potential sequence of increasingly difficult opponents.

Wimbledon begins under scrutiny because of the seed's health condition

Wimbledon's official website states that the 2026 edition of the tournament is played from Monday, June 29, to Sunday, July 12. The first two days of the main tournament are reserved for singles matches in the women's and men's competitions, while doubles enter the schedule later during the first week. In that context, Raducanu's match at the start of the tournament has added visibility because it takes place on one of the main courts, in a slot when the spotlight is focused on the first appearances of seeds and major home names in British tennis. Although the global audience sees Wimbledon as the oldest and one of the most prestigious tournaments in the sport, for British players the pressure at the All England Club is often specific because of the great media interest.

In that sense, Raducanu has already gone through an unusually demanding path. As a teenager, she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2021, which the LTA cites as an important moment in her early breakthrough. A few months later, she won the US Open and became one of the most recognizable athletes of her generation. But after that title, expectations grew faster than her continuity on the Tour. Wrist and ankle injuries, changes to her coaching team and periods without competitive rhythm often pushed the sporting result into the background, which is why each of her returns to the big stage is also viewed through the question of physical sustainability.

This year, according to WTA data, the final at Queen's Club was proof that Raducanu can quickly return to the late stages of strong tournaments when her body allows continuous work. Victories on grass before the final showed better aggression from the baseline, readiness to take the initiative and a clearer plan in shorter exchanges. Still, precisely that style requires stable movement, a strong first step and confidence when changing direction. If the problem with her right leg limits her push-off or defensive movements, Raducanu could be forced to play with a smaller margin for error, which on grass increases the risk of runs of unforced errors. That is why her physical reaction in the opening games will be followed almost as closely as the score.

Between caution and the opportunity that grass brings

According to British reports, Raducanu made it clear that the decision would not be made purely emotionally. Her team will continue with treatments and assessments before she goes out on court, and the player herself stated that she is aware of the risk. In professional tennis, such decisions often include several layers: medical assessment, the sporting importance of the tournament, the position in the draw, the state of the ranking and the long-term plan for the season. In that sense, Wimbledon is difficult to compare with most other tournaments, especially for a tennis player who grew up within the British system and whose profile has largely been built on Grand Slam stages.

On the other hand, returning too early from injury can carry a cost that goes beyond one defeat. If a player with a problem in the lower part of the leg compensates with movements from the rest of the body, the risk can transfer to the knee, hip or back. In Raducanu's case, such an assessment is even more delicate because continuity has long been her most valuable resource. Her good performance at Queen's Club opened the possibility that the grass-court season could become a turning point, but the injury ahead of Wimbledon is a reminder of how quickly circumstances can change. For that reason, even a possible first-round victory will have an additional dimension: it will not speak only about form, but also about how much the injury is under control.

Ružić can enter such a scenario more freely, but not without pressure. Playing against Raducanu at Wimbledon means playing against the crowd, the atmosphere and a story that does not stop at the sporting balance of power. However, Ružić has already shown that she can beat the same opponent in a three-set match, and her rise in the rankings confirms that this is not a passing episode. If she attacks the second serve from the start and forces Raducanu into additional changes of direction, she could test precisely those elements of the game that are under the greatest question mark. For Raducanu, therefore, the first set will be important not only because of the score, but also because of the message it sends to her opponent about her own mobility.

The first-round match as a test of a broader comeback

Ahead of the start of Wimbledon, Raducanu's situation combines three elements that often define major sporting stories: form that is returning, a body sending a warning, and a tournament that is difficult to miss. According to available information, no withdrawal has been officially announced, and the player herself has said that the plan is to compete. Still, until she steps onto the court, a certain degree of uncertainty will remain because leg problems on grass can change after only a few explosive movements. Wimbledon's grass rewards decisiveness and short attacking play, but punishes any lack of stability with low bounce and rapid changes of direction.

For the tournament, her appearance is important because of sporting and media interest, but also because of the broader picture of the women's draw. Raducanu, as the 30th seed, does not enter Wimbledon among the main favorites, but her name carries the weight of a Grand Slam champion and a player who has already proved that she can go unexpectedly deep when she finds rhythm. Ružić, meanwhile, has the chance to confirm that her rise toward the top is not only the result of good weeks on smaller stages. In that combination, the first round gains significance beyond the usual framework of an early match: it can set the tone for Raducanu's grass-court season and open space for Ružić to record one of the most notable results of her career.

After a lighter training session, Raducanu stuck to the plan to do everything together with her team to be ready. According to reports from London, she did not try to downplay the seriousness of the situation, but she made it clear that Wimbledon carries special weight for her. Such an attitude does not remove the risk, but it explains why she will try to play even after disrupted preparations. If she steps onto No. 1 Court on Monday, June 29, against Antonia Ružić, the first question will not only be whether she can win, but how much her body allows her to play the tennis that brought her back into focus ahead of the start of one of the most important tournaments of the season.

Sources:
- The Guardian – report from Emma Raducanu's press conference and injury context ahead of Wimbledon (link)
- Sky Sports – information about the problem with the lower part of the right leg and the planned first-round appearance (link)
- The Championships, Wimbledon – official 2026 tournament schedule and organizational framework of the main draw (link)
- The Championships, Wimbledon – official 2026 women's singles draw (link)
- WTA – official match record of Antonia Ružić against Emma Raducanu in Dubai 2026 (link)
- WTA – official record of the 2026 Queen's Club final between Donna Vekić and Emma Raducanu (link)
- WTA – report on Donna Vekić's title at Queen's Club and the context of Raducanu's result on grass (link)
- WTA – Emma Raducanu profile and statistics (link)
- WTA – Antonia Ružić profile and statistics (link)
- LTA – Emma Raducanu profile with career and ranking data (link)
- ITF – Antonia Ružić profile with basic player and ranking data (link)