Emma Raducanu's Wimbledon hopes dealt blow after Berlin Open withdrawal due to back injury
Published 14/06/2025 at 18:44 GMT+1
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Berlin Open after suffering further back issues at Queen's Club, casting doubts over her fitness for Wimbledon and making it unlikely she will be seeded. Having suffered from back spasms in recent months, Raducanu required a medical timeout during Friday's quarter-final defeat and she has since confirmed her withdrawal from next week's tournament in Germany.
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Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from next week’s Berlin Open after suffering from more back issues during her quarter-final exit at the HSBC Championships on Friday.
The 22-year-old has struggled with back spasms in recent months and took a medical timeout after the opening set in her straight-sets defeat against Zheng Qinwen at the Queen’s Club Championships.
The newly-crowned British No. 1, who had been managing the back problem in the build-up to this week’s tournament in London, revealed afterwards she had needed painkillers to get through the match.
The decision to pull out of next week’s tournament in Berlin, which was confirmed on Saturday morning, has dealt a blow to Raducanu’s chances of being seeded at Wimbledon.
After failing to reach the final at Queen’s, the world No. 36 would have needed a good run in Berlin to break into the top 32 by 23 June to secure a seeding at her home Grand Slam.
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Speaking after her defeat on Friday, Raducanu said: "I have been struggling with my back since Strasbourg, and it's just been something that's been on and off.
"I have been managing it pretty well over the last few weeks, but I guess as the week goes on and I have played five matches now, like, even if two were doubles, I think it just tests it out.
"And I just felt it, as the load goes up. They took me off court and taped it to give me some extra stability, and some painkillers."
When asked if her back issues could put Wimbledon participation in doubt, she said: "I don't know. It's been lingering for the last few weeks, and I have had back issues before. I think it's just a vulnerability of mine. I know I need to take good care of it.
"I'm not overly concerned that it's something serious, but I know it's something that's very annoying and needs proper and careful management."
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Raducanu’s team insist the 22-year-old is confident of competing at the Eastbourne Open, which gets underway on 23 June, a week before the start of Wimbledon.
She had garnered hopes of being seeded for Wimbledon after a confident start to her grass-court season, winning her opening two matches at Queen’s in straight sets.
The 22-year-old had also reclaimed the title of British No. 1 ahead of her second-round match following Katie Boulter’s exit earlier that day.
Despite the injury setback, Raducanu looks to have landed on a positive coaching setup for the grass-court season, confirming before this week’s tournament that she would continue working with Andy Murray’s former coach Mark Petchey as well as childhood coach Nick Cavaday.
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