Wimbledon: Emma Raducanu is 'ready to go' at the All England Club

2 years ago 24

Venue: All England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app.

British women's number one Emma Raducanu says she is "ready to go" at Wimbledon after a week of uncertainty caused by a side strain.

Raducanu, 19, will make her Centre Court debut when she plays Belgium's Alison van Uytvanck on Monday.

She retired with the injury from her only match on the grass this summer.

Asked if she had thought it would stop her playing, the US Open champion said: "There were moments earlier on in the week we weren't really sure."

Raducanu pulled out of the Eastbourne International last week because of the strain, leaving her short of grass-court preparation before Wimbledon.

She managed just seven games against Viktorija Golubic at the Nottingham Open before retiring from the match.

Raducanu practised at Wimbledon as scheduled on Saturday, appearing to serve normally and with a full range of shots.

Afterwards in her pre-tournament news conference, the 10th seed did not say if she was still feeling pain because of the problem.

"Right now I'm fit. I'm ready to go. I'm looking forward to it - that's it," said Raducanu, who reached the last 16 on her Wimbledon debut last year.

"We were sort of going to see how the week goes, but it went pretty well.

"Now it's full steam ahead. Everyone's really looking forward to it."