Emma Raducanu: ‘I declared myself fully fit’ – Brit takes positive out of Wimbledon loss

Emma Raducanu can at least take away a sense of physical stability from Wimbledon despite losing in just the second round. 

The 19-year-old Brit came up against an opponent with a game far above her ranking in world number 55 Caroline Garcia, a woman who peaked at fourth in the rankings back in 2018.

And that pedigree showed today as the Frenchwoman overcame Raducanu 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court.

In contrast to a number of events this season, Raducanu did not require any kind of physio or medical attention across her two matches at Wimbledon.

This was in spite of the fact that she entered the fortnight having not played since Nottingham due to an ab strain.

She said on the match today: “I didn’t feel anything out there.

“I declared myself fully fit when I walked out onto the court on the first day.

“But I’ve played seven hours of tennis in a month.

“To even compete with these girls at this level and win a round I think is a pretty good achievement.”

That initial win came over Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium, a first Centre Court win for Raducanu at the first time of asking.

The Brit has now played a full cycle of Slams since her debut at Wimbledon last year, and will enter the US Open as defending champion in late August.

She recognises that she is still very early in her career and will continue to learn for many years to come.

She said: “It’s just great for me to get all these lessons at such a young age so that when I’m in my mid 20s, I’ll have those issues or little glitches in my game sorted.”

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