Emma Raducanu is expected to be healthy in time to compete at Wimbledon after receiving encouraging results from the exploration she underwent following her retirement from the Rothesay Open in Nottingham on Tuesday.
Raducanu on Wednesday announced his retirement from the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham, a WTA 250 event in which he was scheduled to compete next week. He is expected to recover in time to request a wildcard from Rothesay International in Eastbourne next week.
“It was disappointing to come out this week with a side injury and unfortunately I will no longer be able to play in Birmingham,” he said. “However, I look forward to returning to the game court soon to enjoy the rest of the turf season.”
Raducanu suffered what he described as a “freak” injury, a sharp lateral strain, in the first round of the Rothesay Open in the opening game. He retired in the first set while ahead of Viktorija Golubic 3-4 in his first official home game since winning the U.S. Open. Raducanu underwent an examination Tuesday night and is said to have received some reassuring news of his findings.
Raducanu will spend the next few days resting from physical activity before recovering for the rest of the turf season.
Eastbourne’s main draw will start on June 19, the last week of the tournament before Wimbledon, and will be the goal of his return. A WTA 500 event, Eastbourne has an extremely strong field with eight of the top 10 women entered.
This is the latest in a long list of Raducanu injuries since the end of last year, most recently a back problem that called into question his French Open campaign. After his defeat in the second round in Paris, Raducanu was pleased with how his body had been maintained, which allowed him to take a wildcard in Nottingham. But now he has returned to the familiar feeling of recovering from an injury.
Meanwhile, Tara Moore, number 1 in the British doubles and number 83 in the world, has been temporarily suspended from competition after testing positive for nandrolone and boldenone metabolites and their metabolite.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced Wednesday that Moore tested positive in a show he provided in April while competing in the Colsanitas Cup in Bogota, Colombia, where he reached the final.
“I’ve never consciously taken a banned substance in my career,” Moore said. “I am investigating how the positive result could have been and I hope to prove that I am a clean athlete. I am deeply saddened by the temporary suspension and hope to return to the track as soon as possible.”
Moore has the option of requesting that his sample B, collected at the same time, be analyzed, and he will have a hearing later.
“We are aware of the temporary suspension. This matter is the subject of an ongoing due process that will be independently managed by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA). To preserve the integrity of the process, the LTA will not comment further until the matter is finalized, “the LTA said.
The 29-year-old reached a maximum of 145 singles in 2017 and competed three times in the Wimbledon main draw. Along with his wife, Emina Bektas, his doubles career has taken off in the last 18 months, with Moore entering the top 100 and rising to his current ranking of 83, a career high.
Moore and Bektas won their first-round match at the French Open last month before being forced to withdraw from the tournament after the ITIA notified Moore of their positive test on May 27th.