Despite her disappointing first-round exit from the French Open, Emma Raducanu found fresh confidence on grass by reaching the final at Queen’s Club before falling to Donna Vekić. Even with a 10-place jump in the current WTA Live rankings, her SW19 build-up looked uncertain after withdrawals from Nottingham and Eastbourne. But now, the Briton has received a major boost, with the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka handing her a major lift ahead of Wimbledon.

Aryna Sabalenka’s comeback victory over 20-year-old qualifier Nikola Bartunkova yesterday brought good news for Emma Raducanu’s camp. The result guaranteed that the Briton will enter this year’s Wimbledon as one of the 32 seeded players.

Bartunkova, currently ranked world No. 46 in the WTA Live rankings, was the only player still capable of overtaking Raducanu, who currently sits at No. 32 in the WTA Live rankings.

That position is the final seeded spot for the grass-court Slam this year. With Bartunkova’s defeat, none of the remaining players can now move ahead of Raducanu before the rankings freeze.

The SW19’s seeding cut-off comes on Monday, 22 June, exactly a week before the tournament begins. Because of that, results from Bad Homburg and Eastbourne will not count toward the ultimate seedings.

Raducanu can now head into her home Slam knowing her place is secure. Being seeded also means she will not face another top-32 player until at least the 3rd round of the event.

The achievement is even more impressive considering the setbacks the 23-year-old faced earlier this season. A viral illness forced her to miss several weeks, with no tournament appearances between the Sunshine Double and the Internationaux de Strasbourg.

And for SW19, the last time the former US Open champion arrived at Wimbledon as a seeded player was in 2022. She was the tournament’s 10th seed after her remarkable run to her only Grand Slam title.

Now, Raducanu can fully focus on preparing for The Championships with added confidence. Still, while her seeded status is now confirmed, one of her recent decisions has already sparked fresh debate across the tennis world.

Andy Roddick criticizes Emma Raducanu’s Nottingham withdrawal

After a long dilemma with coaching changes, Emma Raducanu has found her best tennis again. Her recent performances, especially at the HSBC Championship, have drawn plenty of positive reactions across the tennis world.

However, despite her success at the WTA 500 event, her next decision came as a surprise. On June 23, the Briton chose to withdraw from the Nottingham Open to focus on preparing for the challenges ahead.

That move quickly sparked debate among tennis experts, as former Grand Slam champion Andy Roddick shared his thoughts during his podcast. “Keep it going in Nottingham. If you make another semi or final, are you all of a sudden one of the 10 favorites to win Wimbledon? Sure. It’s anyone’s game once you go. And I mean, she played well there last year,” the 53-year-old added.

His opinion also came just days after Raducanu appeared to ignore advice from 52-year-old former British ace Greg Rusedski. He had suggested a different schedule for the grass-court season.

Rusedski believed she should have played Nottingham before pulling out of Eastbourne. Instead, the former world No. 10 withdrew from both tournaments, showing she was not completely aligned with Rusedski’s thinking.

Now, Raducanu heads to the All-England Club as a seeded player with renewed confidence. After her encouraging grass-court form at Queen’s, a deep run at her home Grand Slam is exactly what she will be hoping to produce.