British tennis is in crisis – worse even than Kazakhstan – and this is why. JAMES SHARPE reveals the injury agony and calendar scramble that have left us trailing in the world’s wake

On Sunday afternoon, Britain’s leading lady and a former miracle worker will begin the French Open in the shadow of court great Suzanne Lenglen.

In the far corner of Roland Garros, rows of benches line both sides of Court 13; Here just over 500 people will be able to squeeze in to watch Emma Raducanu’s first round match against Solana Sierra.

According to the organisers, this is as much as the UK’s core interests require. For them, 2021 US Open champion Raducanu is neither a home favorite nor a big name. He is ranked number 37 in the world. Wimbledon would probably also put French world number 50 Lois Boisson on the outfield. But as we head towards the second Grand Slam of the year, we can’t help but make you think about the health and precarious situation of British tennis.

Jack Draper’s absence due to a knee injury means he will soon drop out of the top 100, leaving Cameron Norrie as England’s sole representative. The last time there was only one person in the top 100 was a decade ago.

Just having two puts us behind the other 12 countries; Many of them have much less money to spend on tennis and are on par with countries like Kazakhstan and the Netherlands. France has 11 men in the top 100, Spain has eight and Italy has seven. Even Monaco have a star named Valentin Vacherot who is ranked higher than any Englishman. No British singles player reached the second week of the Australian Open in January and neither could win the main draw match at the Italian Open a week earlier.

How quickly the landscape changes. It was only January of the year that Draper, Norrie and Jacob Fearnley entered the top 75. It was only two years ago that Britain was in the top 100: Draper, Norrie, Dan Evans, Liam Broady and Andy Murray have scored the most since 1978.

Jack Draper, recently ranked world No. 4, may now be outside the top 100

Last year, Raducanu, Sonay Kartal, Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart and Fran Jones were among the women’s top 100. The England team, without stars such as Raducanu, Kartal or Boulter and including 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic, achieved a stunning victory over Australia in the Billie Jean King Cup last month.

A year ago, we were celebrating the 10 players who reached the second round at Wimbledon after Draper, Fearnley and Norrie reached the third round at Roland Garros. There will be six Brits in the main draw this week.

You only have to go back to July 2013 to find Murray alone in the men’s top 200. There are nine now. The depth of talent is evident, many of them are helped to develop by the US university system, and Britain is crying out for a bona fide star. Most importantly, it’s something that keeps you in shape.

As Murray cruised into the final stages having won three of the Grand Slams, it was much easier to overlook the problems beneath the surface. Five years ago Raducanu wrote his most sensational underdog story, but since his epic victory the story has always been the same: poor results, poor conditioning and sacking of coaches. If he wants to recapture his imagination, he needs to write a new one.

Draper finished fourth in the world last summer and looked set to take the Murray title, but he was constantly plagued by injuries ranging from a bruised humerus to a nagging knee concern.

Simply put, the landscape of British tennis would look a lot brighter if our stars weren’t constantly injured. Kartal missed the entire clay court season with a back injury, while Raducanu has played one match since March due to the viral illness and suffered a foot injury before that.

Jones suffered a leg injury at the Australian Open and is still fully recovering from a concussion sustained in a freak gym accident in the US and is taking legal action over it. Fearnley is struggling with a rib injury. Boulter suffered foot and hip injuries last year as he briefly dropped out of the top 100.

Even Mr. Reliable Norrie is no longer immune. He has reached the third round in 15 of the last 20 Slams, is the last Briton standing at 14 Slams in the last five years, including Australia in January, and has missed just one Slam since 2017 through injury. But he revealed on Saturday that a rib injury has left him unable to train since arriving at Roland Garros, causing him to take selfies in front of the Arc de Triomphe instead of hitting balls.

Even Mr. Reliable Norrie is no longer immune to injury and has been unable to train during the preparations for this tournament.

Sonay Kartal Kartal missed the entire clay court season with a back injury

“This is not good timing,” said Norrie, who will face Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo in the first round on Tuesday. ‘Maybe looking back, I realized that I over-trained, over-prepared and loved my tennis so much, maybe I could have had a few more days of rest.’ Norrie even played a best-of-five-set practice match with American Ben Shelton last week.

So what causes so many injuries?

LTA sources were keen to highlight: Daily Mail Sports He said the injuries affecting England stars were varied and when they examined the problems experienced they could not find any pattern. Insiders have also revealed that they have looked at the number of times our stars have withdrawn from matches and insist they show no real difference compared to other nations.

However, LTA has overhauled its entire physiology department in the last 18 months. They clearly know this is an issue holding British tennis back.

Performance director Michael Bourne suggested high workload was the ‘main cause’ of injuries. Raducanu, Draper, Arthur Fery and French Open qualifier Toby Samuel suffered from bone bruises typically associated with repetitive impact stress in tennis.

Of course, this is not just England’s problem. Carlos Alcaraz is not here to defend his title and will miss Wimbledon. France’s great hope Arthur Fils withdrew yesterday due to a hip injury. Taylor Fritz suffered a long-term knee injury. Novak Djokovic has been having a shoulder problem for a while.

Most of the players Daily Mail Sports Consultants noted the busy schedule, including the decision to extend the ATP Masters events from one week to two weeks. Having to fly to Melbourne for two weeks to play on hard courts during the clay court season of the Billie Jean King Cup can’t help.

‘I think it’s easy to focus on the fact that the Brits are injured,’ said Jones, who faces Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia at the more prestigious Court 14. ‘Maybe because there are fewer of us, we’re a smaller country, it’s more noticeable, but it’s not just a British thing. I think this is specific to the Tour.

Carlos Alcaraz was also injured; seven-time major winner will miss both French Open and Wimbledon this summer

Toby Samuel has battled bone bruises this year and has made it through qualifying in Paris, where he will face Australia’s world No.8 Alex de Minaur in the first round.

‘I think if there was a way to find a two or three week break where we could have a good training block, like in Formula 1, maybe that would help with our solidity.’

“I don’t think this is specific to any particular Englishman,” Fearnley added. ‘I think we can say that it was a coincidence that so many Englishmen were injured. I imagine it has something to do with the program. I know a lot of players complain about the balls, they feel quite hard on the body.’

Balls? Many players believe that modern balls bounce faster than older balls, so they fly through the air more slowly; This means you have to hit them harder and the balls take longer, resulting in more strain and more injuries over time.

So Raducanu and Jones are both fit again and will lead the way this afternoon as the first of our six hopefuls as they attempt to bring British tennis out of the shadows once again.