Emma Raducanu will miss next week’s Berlin Open because of a back problem, as she tries to get ready for Wimbledon.
Raducanu, who is No. 37 in the world rankings, has been dealing with the back issue since before the French Open last month. She took an off-court medical timeout during her quarterfinal loss at the Queen’s Club Championship to Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen on Friday.
The 2021 US Open winner said she was not too pleased with the level she displayed in her 6-2 6-4 defeat to Zheng, and Raducanu said she needed to rest her back.
In an entertaining battle, Raducanu had a few bright moments and secured 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, which starts on June 30.
Information from Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
