It’s full steam ahead – Emma Raducanu ‘ready to go’ before Centre Court debut

Emma Raducanu declared herself fit and and ready to go as she prepares to make her Centre Court debut at Wimbledon on Monday.

The US Open champion has been in a race against time to be fit for the Championships since sustaining a side strain in Nottingham nearly three weeks ago.

Raducanu stopped short of saying she is pain-free, but said: “I think that this week was a good build-up. Definitely there were moments earlier on in the week we weren’t really sure. We were sort of going to see how the week goes. But it went pretty well.

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“And now it’s full steam ahead. Everyone’s really looking forward to it. We’re all ready. Right now I’m fit. I’m ready to go.”

Raducanu sparked alarm by pulling out of a scheduled second practice session on Friday against Garbine Muguruza on Court One but she played down the significance, saying: “We just had to react to the situation.

“I already practised in the morning. So we all collectively thought it was the best decision to pass on the afternoon session.”

Raducanu’s return to Wimbledon caps a whirlwind first year on tour in which she has gone from a largely unknown wild card fresh out of school to a global star and face of the tournament.

Her clash with dangerous Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck on Monday will be her first experience of playing on Centre Court, with the attention and expectation enormous.

Raducanu is determined to embrace everything that comes with her change in circumstance while channelling the same youthful exuberance that carried her to the fourth round here last year and then the silverware in New York.

“This year I get such a special feeling walking around the grounds,” she said. “I definitely feel that people are behind me. Even from some