Emma Raducanu sparks fears she'll pull out of Wimbledon as 'downbeat' Brit misses practice

Emma Raducanu was a no-show for a scheduled Wimbledon practice session on Friday afternoon, sparking fears of an injury setback. The Briton has not played since having to retire just seven games into her opening match at the Nottingham Open on June 7 due to a side problem. And she did not attend a hitting session with Garbine Muguruza at Wimbledon which will cause worries over her fitness.

Raducanu was due to practice with the Spaniard on Court No 1 at 2.15pm on Friday but did not appear. Raducanu was spotted heading away from the court shortly before the session was due to take place and was said to look downbeat per The Times.

The worrying news comes just a few hours after Raducanu learned she would face Alison van Uytvanck, who has won two titles on grass this summer, in the first round at Wimbledon next week. And missing the session sparks fears that the 10th seed may be forced to pull out of her home Grand Slam as she works her way back to full fitness.

The US Open champion's team have been taking the injury day by day and entered the draw hopeful that she will be fit enough to play by the time of her first match. But that she did not show up to practice with Muguruza will worry British tennis fans.

Raducanu has explained her injury as "an absolute freak" and it forced the teenager to skip events at Birmingham, Eastbourne and the Hurlingham Club in the build-up to Wimbledon, meaning she has yet to complete a single match on grass this season.

Two-time SW19 champion Andy Murray had trained with Dan Evans on the No 1 court just before Raducanu was due to practice, with the latter himself having shaken off an abdominal injury to take to the court next week. Similarly to Murray's struggles in recent years, Raducanu has