Emma Raducanu Plans to Play at Wimbledon Despite Leg Injury

Britain's Emma Raducanu says she "plans to play" at Wimbledon on Monday despite her participation being put into serious doubt because of a leg injury. Raducanu, 23, made the decision to play after an hour-long practice session at the All England Club on Sunday. Raducanu, who is seeded 30th, is due to start her campaign against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Court One (13:00 BST). "I'm going to do everything with my team in terms of treatment," said Raducanu, who would not put a percentage on her chances of playing. "The plan right now is to play." Fears about the British number one's fitness grew over the past week. Raducanu was spotted wearing a protective boot on Wednesday, then was unable to train on Thursday and Friday because of what is believed to be a shin problem. The 2021 US Open champion returned to the court on Saturday to test her fitness and, wearing strapping around her lower right leg, started with a gentle hour-long session with her team. But she then cut short another practice session with Russia's Anna Kalinskaya - when the pair played a practice set - with 10 minutes remaining. It is another setback for Raducanu in a career which has been blighted by a series of injury problems since her fairytale US Open victory in New York five years ago. This season has been disrupted by a viral illness that meant she only played six matches from early February to the start of Queen's earlier this month. Raducanu's run to the Queen's final bred confidence and increased optimism she could have a successful Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round in 2021 and 2024. In a news conference at Wimbledon on Sunday, Raducanu said the shin issue was a "niggle" which she had been dealing with for about a month. "I've been managing it. Queen's, maybe, was a lot of load for me. Five matches after having not competed for a while, it was just a lot. "But I'm just managing it with my team as best as I possibly can, exhausting all options and doing what we can." To play or not to play? That is the question racing around Raducanu's mind less than 24 hours before she is due to start her latest Wimbledon campaign. Publicly she was trying to portray a positive message when she spoke to the media about 15:30 BST on Sunday afternoon. But her attempts to be upbeat barely concealed the fact she is still privately unsure whether the shin injury will stop her playing against Ruzic. There were signs of improvement in her practice session on Sunday morning. She was slightly less tentative against hitting partner Alexis Canter - particularly when she pushed with her right leg on the forehand side - but it was not as rigorous a test of her movement which she got against Kalinskaya. Like any British player, Raducanu does not want to miss Wimbledon for the world. She has a game which works well on the grass and thrives off the home support she receives. That is why she is willing to push herself and take more risk with the injury in order to step out at the All England Club.