Emma Raducanu will not compete in Birmingham Classic but hopes to be fit for Wimbledon

Emma Raducanu will not compete in the Birmingham Classic after suffering a side strain during her match against Viktorija Golubic at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham earlier this week. However, she hopes to be fit to play at Wimbledon, which starts on 27 June.

Speaking to the LTA, Raducanu confirmed that she won't be playing in Birmingham. The Brit, however, expressed hope that she would be able to "enjoy the rest of the grass season."

“It was disappointing to go out this week with a side injury and unfortunately [I] will no longer be able to play Birmingham," Raducanu said. "I’m looking forward to [being] back on the match court soon, though, to enjoy the rest of the grass season.”

Speaking about her injury in her post-match press conference on Tuesday, Emma Raducanu said that she knew something didn't "feel right" from the start of the match, but wasn't exactly sure what happened.

“One shot in the first game, I was just like, this just doesn’t feel right at all," Raducanu said. "Then I was thinking, first game, if you do something in the first game, people are going to be like, why did you walk out on to the court? I think I pulled something. I’m not really sure exactly what happened, I don’t know what I could have done about it. I have to get a scan, probably, I’ll get it checked out and we’ll see from there. It’s on the side of my body, it feels maybe around my ribs."

Emma Raducanu is currently 11th in the WTA rankings

Emma Raducanu is the current World No. 11

Following her second-round exit at the French Open, Emma Raducanu finds herself in 11th spot in the WTA rankings. She won her opening match of the tournament against Linda Noskova but lost to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the second round despite winning the first set comfortably.

The 19-year-old hasn't had it easy since her historic US Open title run last season. She was affected by blisters on her feet at the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this year, and injured her back against Bianca Andreescu at the Italian Open. In December, she tested positive for COVID-19. The teenager has won just seven out of 17 matches this season.

Tennis fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that Raducanu will be able to recover from her latest injury setback and compete at her home Slam, where she made the last 16 last year.