Former British No 1 Dan Evans claims Emma Raducanu will add to her US Open triumph by winning Wimbledon - despite her recent injury woes. Raducanu has not competed since June, when she reached the Queen's Club final before losing to Donna Vekic. The 23-year-old suffered a stress fracture in her lower right leg and was forced to miss both Wimbledon and the US Open.
Raducanu has dropped to world No 107, her lowest position in two years, but Evans, who retired at this year's Wimbledon after controversially being denied a singles wildcard, has backed her to win the grass-court title on home soil. "I genuinely think she will win Wimbledon one day," Evans told The Telegraph. She's good, and I think - I'm saying this in as nice a way as possible - I think she thinks she's good.
"Not in an arrogant way, but when she plays big matches, she's like 'Whatever. This is just another match.' And yeah, I just think one day she'll get it." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player It has been a frustrating 12 months for Raducanu with more persistent physical issues. After a foot injury severely hampered her pre-season training, Raducanu then spent two-and-a-half months off court with a post-viral illness after initially falling unwell in early February.
She finally returned for the end of the clay-court season having rehired Andrew Richardson, the coach who guided her to the US Open title, but the pair's time on court together has been limited. Raducanu was not among the players named in Great Britain's team for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in late September and with question marks over whether she will compete again in 2026. The former world No 10 could benefit from ending her season early to focus on recovery and secure a protected ranking before making her return next year.
"There's no doubt she needs to have a racket in her hand a bit more," said Evans. "I'm sure she's getting pushed side-to-side by endorsements, and there's a bit of tug of war on what she needs to do, what she doesn't. "I admit I've not watched her practices very often, but from what I'm told she's a good trainer: she works for two, three hours in a row with hardly any break." Should Raducanu miss at least six months of competition due to injury, she can use a special ranking for a select number of events upon her return.
This would be her top-50 ranking from during the grass season - the last time she competed and received prize money for a tournament. It is a provision in tennis that enables players who have been absent from the sport for an extended period to qualify more easily for tournaments upon their return. The ATP and WTA Tours have different rules when it comes to protected rankings.
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