Emma Raducanu is back in the top 50 of the WTA Rankings after a year of progress, but the 2021 US Open champion could face a slide after she was handed a challenging Wimbledon draw.
Raducanu reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, with the 240 points she collected from that run set to drop off her ranking heading into this year’s tournament at the All England Club.
If she fails to match her performance from last year at Wimbledon, the 22-year-old will slide backwards in the rankings and she may lose her status as British No 1 to Katie Boulter.
Raducanu will be a strong favourite to beat British teenager Mimi Xu in her opening match at Wimbledon, but she could then be in line to face 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in round two.
Vondrousova confirmed she is in red-hot form heading into Wimbledon after winning a WTA 500 tournament on grass in Berlin last week.
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If Raducanu got through those two matches, she would be in line to face world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and that would be a match she would be a big outsider to win.
The draw means Raducanu is likely to slide outside of the top 50 once again after Wimbledon and she is downplaying her hopes heading into the tournament with a back injury.
“Truthfully I don’t expect much from myself this year,” said Raducanu. “I know I’ve just been dealing with certain things.
“I just want to go out there and embrace the moment. I want to embrace the occasion. I know there’s not many opportunities to be playing at Wimbledon. You get it once a year and for a finite amount of time. I’m just looking forward to going out there and feeling the surroundings and the atmosphere.
“I just feel like the way that I’m going to do that is putting more time on the court.
“Maybe in the short term I feel a little bit more tired, but I know I’m going to improve in the long run doing it. Even if I don’t see the results straightaway, they will come.
“For me, I love working, and I think that’s the stage I’m at right now is just to work, put the hours in, and get better.”
Raducanu also commented on her status as British No 1, as she insisted the rivalry with Katie Boulter for that domestic itle is all friendly.
“It’s a great honor to be British No. 1. It’s been a long time, but Katie is hot on my heels, a couple places behind me. I know she’s such a great grass court player, such a great player in general,” she added.
“It’s going to be a really difficult battle in the next few months, the rest of the season. For us, we have a really healthy, good relationship. I think it’s nice to have, but it isn’t everything to me.”
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