Emma Raducanu spotted leaving practice with orthopaedic boot as doubts cast over Wimbledon involvement

Emma Raducanu will be one of the star attractions at Wimbledon, or at least if she participates in it. The former US Open champion has not been on court and has since been seen wearing an orthopaedic boot. However, all concern has been cleared for now with her scheduled to practice ahead of the event.

Raducanu has cut her grass swing short, opting not to compete in Nottingham and Eastbourne, home tournaments that would have seen her a strong favourite for the title and a hugely popular figure on court.

Now, Wimbledon has also been cast into doubt after she was cited with a grey immobilisation boot on her right leg as she wandered away from Aorangi Park - Wimbledon's official practice area.

This is always going to be a huge concern without context. As the British number one, Raducanu is the WTA player most British fans are most intrigued to see on court. Likely to be on either Centre Court or No. 1 Court, a huge amount of support will be created for her at SW19.

According to Clay, Raducanu did not practice on Wednesday, 25th June. In contrast, she is scheduled to get back onto the court the next day to get some much-needed court time ahead of the Grand Slam.

However, any concern and worry have since been cleared for the time being. “Emma is absolutely fine. She will play tomorrow,” Thomas Houchin said, one of her representatives.

It is fair to say that while 2026 has had some highs, it has been shrouded in lows for Raducanu. She has missed a large chunk of the year through illness, virtually all of the clay swing while her Middle East and Sunshine swing were negatively impacted, winning just one match before disappearing from the Miami Open ahead of her supposed return at the Rome Open.

Media duties done, she then pulled out with her clay debut in 2026 not coming until the Internationaux de Strasbourg. She also competed at Roland Garros, both ending in the first round.

Grass was the main topic of conversation. Raducanu has enjoyed some prosperous tournaments on the surface, which included her breakout run at Wimbledon back in 2021.

At Queen's, the 23-year-old showed her best stuff on court. Following in the footsteps of the Transylvania Open final in February, Raducanu reached a third WTA final following a busy end to the week She would go on to lose to Donna Vekic in the final with her long awaited first WTA title following the US Open still waiting to be won.

That was her only grass court action with fitness again a concern. She could have made a real impact in Nottingham or Eastbourne with the crowd behind her, but this was not the case. A lack of tennis having been played could dent her Wimbledon ambitions. While a title run is hugely unlikely, she will be hoping to make at least the second week and maybe even further if the draw opens up.

Raducanu made the second week in her debut campaign back in 2021, a few months before that US Open triumph. She reached the fourth round before retiring due to breathing difficulties in a cruel turn of fate. She could only manage a second round the next year before missing out entirely in an injury-hit 2023 campaign.

2024 was a sign of her capabilities with a run to the last-16 once more. Despite this, some could say a chance missed with qualifier Lulu Sun defeating the Brit to reach the quarter-finals to play Vekic. Raducanu gave World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka a lot to think about last year in a tremendous match of tennis but could not find the winning formula as in the end she was overpowered. 2026 is a new year and a new chance for Raducanu to get some more wins under her belt as she looks to surge back up the rankings.