Emma Raducanu has raised injury concerns on the eve of the grass-court season after admitting that she continues to have issues with her lower back and fears that her body may not hold up over the next month. 

The former US Open champion had suffered back spasms during her Australian Open preparations at the beginning of the year, before being troubled by a recurrence in Strasbourg against Danielle Collins last month.

But the issue could yet colour her time on the turf, with the former British No1 disarmingly open about her ‘pretty low’ expectations ahead of the inaugural WTA 500 event at The Queen’s Club this week. 

‘I can’t really predict the future, how it’s going to be,’ Raducanu said when asked about how confident she felt in her body ahead of an intense month. ‘I’ve been managing my back for the last few weeks now, and it’s something that comes and goes. 

‘Overall, I just have to manage what I can take care of when these things happen. I just need to deal with it and just keep doing the right things. 

Emma Raducanu has played down expectations ahead of her grass-court debut this season

Raducanu will feature at the revamped Queen’s this week but has suffered another injury recurrence in the build-up

The 22-year-old admitted that she has found the issue ‘frustrating’ but is more confident about dealing with it

‘It can be frustrating. I think when I was playing in Strasbourg in my second-round match, it definitely hindered me, and first round in Paris that I got through. 

‘And I think that just having to manage it, knowing that it keeps coming back (is a challenge). 

‘But I try not let it get to me, because I think I have a pretty good feel of what to do and how to manage it (when it happens). It does take a few days out, but all I can do is kind of deal with what’s in front of me.’ 

Paradoxically, Raducanu will compete in both singles and doubles in west Kensington, partnering with Katie Boulter for the first time in her career. 

The decision to do so under her physical circumstances and a lack of doubles experience – Raducanu last played the format on the tour in 2022 – may raise eyebrows, but the 22-year-old shared her ‘excitement’ at starting her campaign with her Billie Jean King Cup team-mate against Jiang Xinyu and Wu Fang-hsien on Monday.

But the 22-year-old was keen to keep expectations low across the formats, despite the lure of winning her maiden WTA singles title in front of a home crowd in west London. 

‘Of course you want to win this tournament, like every tournament, but especially when it’s at home,’ Raducanu continued. 

‘But my expectations are pretty low, because I played points for the first time today, and I’ve had maybe two or three days on the grass courts, so it’s not been much. 

Raducanu will partner fellow Briton Katie Boulter in her first WTA doubles match since 2022 

Another bright spot is that Raducanu is working this week with former coach Nick Cavaday

‘But I just have to take it as it goes. I know that I’m doing what I can, and I’ve dealt with everything as best as I can.’ 

As she starts her journey in west London, Raducanu will at least be able to call upon a familiar face, with her former coach Nick Cavaday seen practicing with the Briton on Sunday. 

Cavaday was forced to take a step back from working with the player after the Australian Open for health reasons, but Raducanu was delighted to share that she can start to call upon his support on home soil. 

‘I’m happy to see him healthy, first of all,’ Raducanu said. ‘It’s been a long time since we were last on court together in Australia, and I think obviously, Mark (Petchey, her current coach) is in Paris commentating. Nick was around, and it was nice to just have a few days with him.’

Raducanu also refused to be drawn on a discussion on equal pay in the men’s and women’s game, days after the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) announced that they will be committing to equal prize money at Queen’s and at Eastbourne by 2029, as well as awarding a record-high prize pot this year for both events. 

‘I think in a lot of the WTA events, the prize money is definitely different to the women’s. At the Slams and the Masters, it’s the same, but you know, the week-to-week events, it is lower,’ Raducanu said. ‘It is there is obviously a big difference, and I’m sure a lot of players will, say their piece on it, but I just prefer not to kind of get involved and just whatever the situation is. I’ll kind of roll with it, but I’m never really gonna take a stand, either way.

‘I don’t feel like I really am playing for money,’ Raducanu said. ‘Of course, I need to sustain my team, which is extremely expensive. 

‘And with my kind of profile, coaches and team members know that, and so it is a very expensive sport, but it’s not my main motivation when I play.’