Izuchukwu Okosi
Tennis sensation, Emma Raducanu will miss next week’s Berlin Open tournament due to fitness concern.
The world number 37 in the WTA ranking has been rocked by a back injury since the French Open in May.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelRaducanu took an off-court medical timeout during get quarterfinals defeat to Olympics champion, Zheng Qunwen on Friday.
The 2021 US Open women’s champion admitted not being pleased with her performance in the 6-2, 6-4 loss to Zheng, stressing the need to have a rest due to the back strain.
READ ALSO:British Number 1 Raducanu Crashes Out Of Australian Open, Muguruza Also Out
In the said game, Raducanu had some great moments and nicked a double break to go 3-0 up in the second set after taking the medical timeout, but she was eventually overpowered by the Chinese world No. 5.
“I’ve played five matches in a pretty short amount of time. I’m probably feeling that, so I need to let the back rest and see how it goes from there,” Raducanu, who also competed in the doubles alongside Katie Boulter, told the BBC after her defeat in London.
“I’m not overly concerned that [the back issue] is something serious, but I know it’s something that’s very annoying and needs proper and careful management.
“I’ve improved a lot and done a lot of good work behind the scenes, but there’s a lot to go to get to the next level. They are stronger than me and have had more time training — I need to do the same. I need to raise my level.”
Nine of the top 10 women’s players are set to compete in Berlin, a grass-court event players use to prepare for Wimbledon.
The Wimbledon tournament, the third major Grand Slam event of the year starts on June 30.
Barbora Krejcikova is the current Wimbledon ladies’ singles champion after the 31st seed earned an impressive 6-2 2-6 6-4 win over Jasmine Paolini to claim the title for the first time last year.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
