Emma Raducanu opens up on gruesome toe injury after relentless clay training

Emma Raducanu has detailed the damage she has sustained to her feet after intense clay court training. She has never played on the surface before, but that will change this weekend when she represents her country in the Billie Jean King Cup.

As British number one, she will be key to her team's hopes of success against the Czech Republic. But a big stumbling block might be her lack of experience on this surface - her last match on clay was in 2018, when she took part in the junior French Open.

Raducanu has been working hard to get up to speed with some intense training on clay in preparation for her debut. However, as she revealed this week, putting in so much time and effort has taken its toll.

"I have no toenails. It's just my foot, my shoes, they've just been sliding around a lot," she said. Playing with such discomfort will not be ideal, especially considering the Brits are already very much up against the odds.

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British tennis bosses have never really invested in clay court training, which goes a long way to explain why athletes from this country have struggled for success. By comparison, the Czechs are among the leading nations in the world when it comes to women's tennis.

They are affected by injuries, but can still call on two top 50 players for this competition. World number 32 Marketa Vondrousova lost to Raducanu at Wimbledon last year, but is strong on clay and reached the French Open final in 2019, while Tereza Martincova, ranked 50th, is no novice either.

Raducanu has been working with Italian coach Ricardo Piatti while her regular trainer Torben Beltz is on holiday. Explaining the situation, she said: "Torben had been travelling