Great Britain standout Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon on Sunday night due to a stress fracture in her lower right leg.
Raducanu, the No. 30 seed, was confident earlier Sunday that she would answer the bell for Monday first-round match against Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic at the All England Club in London.
But hours later, the British No. 1 announced her withdrawal from Wimbledon on social media after a medical scan displayed the injury was more serious than previously thought.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but sadly I’ve had to withdraw from this year’s Wimbledon,” Raducanu wrote. “The niggle I’ve been managing has developed into a stress fracture and I’ve been medically advised to stop pushing through.
“Playing at Wimbledon means everything to me, so this is really difficult to process.”
Raducanu, 23, was spotted wearing a boot on the leg on Wednesday. She tested the leg in a training session Saturday but had to cut short a practice session with Anna Kalinskaya of Russia when she was having trouble moving and lost four straight games.
It has been a challenging season for Raducanu. She has played in just 10 events due to a foot injury and an illness. She was out for more than two months at one point before returning in mid-May.
Raducanu said the leg pain increased during her run to the Queen’s Club title match earlier this mnoth. She lost to Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the final.
“Queen’s, during that week, was a lot of load for me,” Raducanu said earlier at her Sunday press conference. “Five matches after having not competed for a while. But I’m just managing it with my team as best as I possibly can, exhausting all options and doing what we can.”
Raducanu famously emerged in 2021 to win the U.S. Open at age 18 and that remains her lone WTA title. Her best Wimbledon showing is reaching the fourth round in both 2021 and 2024.
Wimbledon didn’t announce a replacement for Raducanu on Sunday night. Typically, a lucky loser is selected out of qualifying.
–Field Level Media
