Raducanu would be 'over the moon' with Centre Court victory after missing Wimbledon last year

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Emma Raducanu was doing meet-and-greets in the hospitality suites a year ago at Wimbledon, unable to play after ankle and wrist surgeries.

She prefers the view from Centre Court, where the hometown favorite will face No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday when the grass-court Grand Slam starts.

“Being on the other side just really (stung). It wasn’t nice and I didn’t really watch any of the tennis either,” the 21-year-old Raducanu said Saturday at a pretournament news conference. “For me to be on this side of it this year is just super special.”

Raducanu's grass-court season has included the first victory of her career against a top-10 opponent — she saved a match point in beating No. 5 Jessica Pegula at the Eastbourne International — and she was awarded a wild-card entry to Wimbledon.

In 2021, Raducanu reached the fourth round as a wild card making her Grand Slam debut at the All England Club. She followed that up by going from qualifier to major champion when she won the U.S. Open at age 18.

Since then, she's dealt with injuries and made frequent coaching changes. But she said she's learned to pace herself, opting to skip the French Open and the Paris Olympics.

After beating Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-0 in the first round at Eastbourne this week, she wrote “My own pace” on a courtside TV camera at Devonshire Park.

She's even learned to set expectations, saying her 29-year-old Russian opponent on Monday is the big favorite.

“If I get through my first round, I’d be over the moon,” said Raducanu, who is ranked No. 168.

Alexandrova has “great weapons” that only get amplified on grass, she added.

"It’s a match where I’m actually the complete underdog because, yeah, she’s a lot older, a lot more experienced, ranked a lot higher,” Raducanu said. “For me, I feel like it’s just a great opportunity to try to get a good (victory), try to enjoy playing how I have been in the last few weeks, and just get back into it.”

As the 10th seed in 2022, Raducanu lost to Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court.

Even though she's trying to take it easy, Raducanu found herself hitting balls Friday at the All England Club on what was supposed to be a day off.

"I kind of got bored, so I wanted to come here," she said. "The weather was nice. I just wanted to hit some balls.”

She won't be bored on Monday.

“I’m very happy to be back here. I’ve missed this tournament so much.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Britain's Emma Raducanu plays Russia's Daria Kasatkina on day six of the Rothesay International tennis tournament at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, England, Thursday June 27, 2024. (George Tewkesbury/PA via AP)

Britain's Emma Raducanu on the practice court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, Saturday June 29, 2024. The Wimbledon Championships begin on July 1. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Emma Raducanu on the practice court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on July 1st, Saturday June 29, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

FILE - Emma Raducanu, of Britain, holds up the US Open championship trophy after defeating Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, during the women's singles final of the US Open tennis championships, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, in New York. Raducanu will be back on Centre Court at Wimbledon when the Grand Slam starts Monday, July 1, 2024. She faces the No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova a year after she missed the grass-court major while recovering from ankle and wrist surgeries. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

Britain's Emma Raducanu on the practice court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, Saturday June 29, 2024. The Wimbledon Championships begin on July 1. (John Walton/PA via AP)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl began pounding the southeast Caribbean on Monday as a powerful Category 4 storm after becoming the earliest storm of that strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.

The storm was expected to make landfall in the Windward Islands late Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation,” the center said. “Take action now to protect your life!”

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, Grenada, Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as thousands of people hunkered down in homes and shelters. The last strong hurricane to hit the southeast Caribbean was Hurricane Ivan 20 years ago, which killed dozens of people in Grenada.

“It’s going to be terrible,” Ralph Gonsalves, prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said ahead of the storm and urged people to stay indoors “and wait this monster out.”

Beryl was located 50 miles (75 kilometers) east of Grenada on Monday morning, with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, and was moving west-northwest at 20 mph (31 kph). It was a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending 35 miles (55 kilometers) from its center.

The storm had not made landfall yet, but officials in Barbados already received more than a dozen reports of roof damage, fallen trees and downed electric posts across the island, said Kerry Hinds, emergency management director.

Once Beryl passes, drones will assess damage and speed up response, said Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs and information. Before, it used to take two hours to receive information as crews fanned out across the island, versus seven minutes with drones, he noted.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for St. Lucia, Martinique and Trinidad. A tropical storm watch was issued for Haiti’s entire southern coast, and from Punta Palenque in the Dominican Republic west to the border with Haiti.

Forecasters warned of a life-threatening storm surge of up to 9 feet (3 meters) in areas where Beryl will make landfall, with 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15 centimeters) of rain for Barbados and nearby islands and possibly 10 inches in some areas (25 centimeters), especially in Grenada and the Grenadines.

“This is a very dangerous situation,” warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The storm was expected to weaken slightly over the Caribbean Sea on a path that would take it just south of Jamaica and later toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 1.

“It should be emphasized that Beryl is forecast to remain a significant hurricane during its entire trek across the Caribbean region,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Officials in some southeast Caribbean islands announced controlled shutdowns of electricity and warned of water outages ahead of the storm, urging people to seek shelter. They warned of landslides and flash flooding as they shuttered schools, airports and government offices.

Hours before the storm, Barbadian Michael Beckles said he feared the worst for his island despite witnessing how people were taking it seriously.

“As prepared as we can try to be, there are a lot of things that we can’t control,” he said. “Electricity probably will go. We’ll have issues with water. There are a lot of houses that are not ready for a storm like this.”

Beryl strengthened from a tropical depression to a major hurricane in just 42 hours — a feat accomplished only six other times in Atlantic hurricane history, and with Sept. 1 as the earliest date, according to hurricane expert Sam Lillo.

It also was the earliest Category 4 Atlantic hurricane on record, besting Hurricane Dennis, which became a Category 4 storm on July 8, 2005.

“This is a dangerous hurricane for the Windward Islands," said hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry, who warned that when Beryl comes ashore, “it’s going to be a very serious situation.”

Beryl amassed its strength from record warm waters that are hotter now than they would be at the peak of hurricane season in September, he said.

Beryl also marked the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

Among those weathering the storm was Jaswinderpal Parmar of Fresno, California, who had traveled to Barbados for Saturday’s Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket’s biggest event. He and his family were now stuck there with scores of other fans, their flights canceled on Sunday.

He said by phone that it's the first time he has experienced a hurricane, with heavy rain starting at midnight. He and his family have been praying, as well as taking calls from concerned friends and family as far away as India.

“We couldn’t sleep last night,” Parmar, 47, said. “We were keeping an eye on it.”

Even as Beryl bore down on the southeast Caribbean, government officials warned about a cluster of thunderstorms mimicking the hurricane’s path that have a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.

“There’s always a concern when you have back-to-back storms,” Lowry said. “If two storms move over the same area or nearby, the first storm weakens the infrastructure, so the secondary system doesn’t need to be as strong to have serious impacts.”

Beryl is the second named storm in the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in northeast Mexico and killed four people.

On Sunday night, a tropical depression near the eastern Mexico coastal city of Veracruz briefly strengthened into Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of the season. It weakened on Monday and was downgraded back to a tropical depression forecast to move inland. The National Hurricane Center early Monday reported heavy rainfall and flooding, with the possibility of mudslides, before the storm dissipates.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

Associated Press videographer Kofi Jones in Bridgetown, Barbados, contributed to this report.

A resident carries wood to cover his house's windows in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People disassemble a beach bar's awning in preparation for Hurricane Beryl, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People walk off the beach after attending a religious gathering in Bridgetown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. Hurricane Beryl strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it approaches the southeast Caribbean. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Sailboats line up to enter a marina ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Beryl in Speightstown, Barbados, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

Hurricane Beryl's winds batter Carlisle Bay in Bridgetown, Barbados, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)