Emma Raducanu revealed how close she was to participating in this year's SW19 with a picture of her doing a rice grip workout with a Wimbledon towel.

The 2021 US Open champion Raducanu has been forced to withdraw from several major tournaments this year. After going out of the Australian Open in the second round, she was absent from both the Roland Garros and Wimbledon in order to recover from surgery on her wrists and ankle.

Speaking of her injuries, she said that her wrists had been causing her pain for eight months, and the procedure was being done in order to remove bone spurs from both of them.

Meanwhile, the minor surgery on her ankle was done in the hope of resolving recurring problems that the former British No. 1 has been dealing with since her US Open win almost two years ago.

Raducanu recently shared a picture of her doing the rice bucket workout, which is done in order to improve grip strength, suggesting she is working hard to re-gain her fitness following the surgeries.

However, there is also a Wimbledon towel present in the photo and the Brit took the opportunity to reference the grasscourt major, where she was voted as the breakout star in 2021 just months before her US Open victory.

"Closest I was to participating this year @wimbledon," she wrote on her Instagram story.

Undoubtedly, this picture has fuelled hopes by fans that Raducanu will be healthy enough to compete again soon.

Although it won't be this season, the 20-year-old is planning to start playing again during the off-season in December, at an exhibition event in Macau, China.

It has been difficult for the former world No. 10 since her win at Flushing Meadows, with injuries and coaching changes plaguing her. Recently, she has seen herself fall out of the top 100 in the WTA world rankings, and has been on record to say that the WTA Tour is 'brutal.'

However, fans are now hoping that she will be able to return to the sport healthy, happy, and able to achieve her goals.