Konta pleads for patience from fans as Raducanu makes Wimbledon return

By Mohamed Hamza

Johanna Konta has pleaded with British fans to be patient with Emma Raducanu this summer as she gears up for her first Wimbledon in two years.

Raducanu missed last summer’s grass-court season after surgeries on her ankle and wrist and is tentatively bidding to get back to the level that saw her spectacularly win the US Open three years ago.

The 21-year-old is carefully managing her schedule after an injury-hit 18 months. She skipped the French Open in May and has turned down a wildcard invite to the Olympics.

But she impressed on her return to British soil at the Rothesay Open in June and reached the semi-finals before losing to British No.1 Katie Boulter.

With her injury issues seemingly behind her, hype is building ahead of Wimbledon but Konta, who reached the semi-finals at SW19 in 2017, believes expectations should remain low.

“I assume she’s not going into the grass court season as the be-all end-all,” said Konta, who attended Pickleball England’s Pickleball Slam alongside former British No.1 Greg Rusedski, and top British pickleball players Louis Laville, Thaddea Lock, James Chaudry & Pei-Chuan Kao in Kingston.

“After the 18 months that she’s had with the surgeries and the general desire to stay healthy, more than anything now it’s just building on her physical ability.

"She’s looking to play as many matches as possible and lead into the hardcourt swing into the US because she’ll obviously have very fond memories of the hardcourt swing.

“I think she’ll be enjoying this time of the year and I hope she stays healthy and play as much as she wants to play."

While Raducanu has very little gametime behind her, compatriot Boulter is in fine form after defending her title in Nottingham.

The 27-year-old has also added her first WTA 500 title this season by winning the San Diego Open and Konta is optimistic she can make a strong Wimbledon run.

"We’re fortunate to also have Boulter there, who’s done very well over the past few years, and this year having won a title in San Diego,” she added.

“She’s already at the upper level and it’s important to recognise that.

"She’ll be seeded at most events and there’s a lot of things that’ll point to some good fortune going her way.

"The biggest thing for Katie is keeping her body healthy. It’s been good to see her play so much tennis, being robust and playing so many matches. It’s been a pleasure to see."

These days Konta can be found trying her hand at another racket sport in pickleball, which she is urging more people to try out.

She admitted: "I started playing a little bit of pickleball at the end of last year and really enjoyed it. It’s a fun game that you can just pick up quite easily.

"More than anything, it was just something that felt close enough to tennis for me and it's fun.

"I think it’s quite a good level regulator - there’s very little between good and not so good."