Emma Raducanu is now guaranteed seeded entry at Wimbledon and it is all thanks to World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka is performing in her first grass court event of the season at the Berlin Open, as she looks to prepare to win her first Wimbledon title.
The World No. 1 has defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova and Nikola Bartunkova in Berlin to reach the semi-finals of the WTA 500 event, setting up a clash with Jessica Pegula.
Sabalenka’s victory against Bartunkova has ensured that Raducanu will enter Wimbledon as a seed, no matter what happens in the rest of the tournament in Germany.
The World No 1 survived a scare against Bartunkova, as she found herself a set and 2-0 down in her quarter-final match. Sabalenka rallied to take the second set with a tie-break, before winning the deciding set 6-4.
Bartunkova, at World No. 46, was the only player who had the potential to catch Raducanu, who currently sits at World No. 32 in the WTA Tour rankings.
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That is the final remaining spot for seeded entry at Wimbledon and the rest of the chasing pack can no longer catch Raducanu before the cut-off.
The cut-off is Monday, 22nd June, a whole week before Wimbledon is set to take place. That means that the results of Bad Homburg or Eastbourne are not factored in by the Grand Slam, meanining Raducanu is safe.
While this is fantastic news for Raducanu, it could also help her decision making when it comes to her scheduling ahead of Wimbledon.
After her brilliant run to the Queen’s Club Championships final, Raducanu made the decision to withdraw immediately from her next event in Nottingham.
The star is yet to confirm if she will play Eastbourne yet, but the WTA 250 event will very likely give her a wildcard if she calls for it.
With seeded entry now in the bag, Raducanu will not have to play another one of the top players until the third round at the earliest.
With potential to play herself into the tournament a bit more with a kinder draw, Raducanu could opt to miss the Eastbourne Open in favour of staying fresh ahead of Wimbledon.
Whatever happens between now and Wimbledon, Raducanu deserves credit for securing seeded entry ahead of Wimbledon.
The star missed a long stretch earlier in the season due to a viral illness, not playing a tournament between Indian Wells and Strasbourg.
The last time Raducanu entered Wimbledon as a seed was in 2022, when she was the tenth seed, following her monumental run to the 2021 US Open title.
