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 World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka handing her a lift ahead of Wimbledon.

Aryna Sabalenka’s comeback victory over 20-year-old qualifier Nikola Bartunkova yesterday brought good news for 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. 62 in the WTA Live rankings, was the only player still capable of overtaking Raducanu, who currently sits at No. 31 in the WTA Live rankings.

The result sealed her seeded spot at 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 main draw begins. So the results from Bad Homburg and Eastbourne will not count toward the ultimate seedings.

Being seeded also means Raducanu will not face another top-32 player until at least the third round of the event. The Briton is all too familiar with narrowly missing out on Grand Slam seeding.

Raducanu famously missed the cut-off at last year’s US Open. Coincidentally, it was a loss to Sabalenka at the Cincinnati Open that pushed her down to World No. 35.

Even closer to home, Raducanu entered the 2025 Wimbledon unseeded. A lingering back issue forced her to pull out of the Berlin Open, cementing her position at World No. 37.

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.

As 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 success at the WTA 500 event, her next decision came as a surprise. Last week, the Briton withdrew from the Nottingham Open to focus on 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 43-year-old added.

His opinion also came just days after Raducanu appeared to ignore advice from 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.