LONDON: British tennis star Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open women’s singles champion, will miss all events this summer, including the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships, reported Xinhua.
Raducanu, 20, released a picture of herself on a hospital bed and a photo of a handwritten letter on social media on Wednesday, one week after her withdrawal from the Madrid Open due to a hand injury.
“Hey, it’s safe to say the last 10 months have been difficult as I dealt with a recurring injury on a bone in both hands,“ said Raducanu in the letter.
“I tried my best to manage the pain and play through it for most of this year and the end of last year by reducing practice load dramatically, missing weeks of training as well as cutting last season short to try to heal it. Unfortunately, it’s not enough.”
“I’m disappointed to share that I will be out for the next few months, and while I am at it, I will have another minor procedure that is due on my ankle,“ continued Raducanu. “It pains me that I will miss the summer events, and I tried to downplay the issues, so I thank all my fans who continued to support me when you did not know the facts. Looking forward to seeing you all back out there.”
Raducanu reached the fourth round in her first major tournament at Wimbledon 2021 while she ranked outside the top 300, then she stunned the world by clinching the US Open title the same year as a qualifier.
Since then, Raducanu has been struggling with injuries and illness and will be out of the top 100 in the world rankings next week.-Bernama