Emma Raducanu declares she is fit and raring to go for Wimbledon as Centre Court ticket prices soar

Emma Raducanu has declared herself fit and focused for Wimbledon tomorrow, causing ticket prices for her first round Centre Court tie to soar to nearly £3,000 each.

The 19-year-old US Open champion was injured earlier this month at a warm-up tournament in Nottingham. But last night the No 10 seed confirmed she is ‘fit and ready’ to face Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium, ranked 46th in the world.

‘This week has been a great build-up,’ she said. ‘There were moments earlier in the week where we weren’t sure if I would play, but now it’s full steam ahead. Everyone is really looking forward to it. I’m ready.’

Raducanu was training confidently yesterday, moving freely around the court, as her mum, Renee Zhang, joined spectators.

Her declaration prompted a surge in prices on resale websites offering tickets for the opening day, which will also see Andy Murray on Centre Court. Viagogo was offering VIP seats for £2,700, with even the cheapest priced at £1,474. Wimbledon Debenture Holders, another resale site, was selling pairs of Centre Court tickets for £3,090 – nearly double the top price seen in recent years.

Those who managed to secure tickets for tomorrow through official public ballots paid just £56.

Debentures for Centre Court cost a dizzying £80,000 for five years, but are the only tickets that can be freely traded and last month a full debenture fetched £120,000 at auction. A Wimbledon spokesman said the price was ‘judged to be fair value for the long-term investment that debenture holders contribute towards The Championships’.

Murray, who will be taking on Australia’s James Duckworth, has rented a flat close to the All England Club so he can avoid any traffic woes if there are any more Tube or train strikes during the tournament. Last night, he said: ‘I have rented a flat close by for my dad, but I might stay there too if I have a late finish or early start.

‘With what’s been going on with the trains, the traffic has been really tricky. I don’t want to waste an hour in the car.’

All Russian and Belarusian players have been banned from this year’s tournament following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision caused the sport’s governing bodies to penalise Wimbledon by ruling that players’ performance in the tournament will not count towards their world ranking. Last night, reigning men’s champion, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, said: ‘As a child of a war, I know what it feels like being in that position. But I can’t say I fully agree to ban players from competing because I don’t see how they have contributed to anything that is going on.’