Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from Wimbledon because of a right foot injury that plagued her leading up to the Grand Slam tournament.
The 30th seed was slated to face Antonia Ruzic on No. 1 Court on Monday before she made the announcement in a statement posted to social media Sunday.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but sadly I’ve had to withdraw from this year’s Wimbledon,” the 23-year-old said in her statement. “I’ve done everything possible to try to get to the start line tomorrow but after a final scan tonight, 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, in front of a home crowd, means everything to me, so this is really difficult to process. I want to thank you all for your support and encouragement. Especially at a time like this, it is invaluable. I look forward to seeing you when I’m back.”
It has been a tough run for the 2021 U.S. Open champion, who has been dealing with illness and injury for a better part of the 2026 season.
She was dealing with a virus in February, and then a post-viral illness kept her off the court between March and May.
The foot issue has been something she has been dealing with during the clay court season and had gotten worse following her run to the final of the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club.
Raducanu had taken off practicing on Thursday and Friday and a Saturday practice session ended early.
She did a one-hour practice session with her hitting partner Alexis Cante, The Guardian reported.
And Raducanu seemed like she would play the tournament when she faced reporters on Sunday.
“I’m going to do everything with my team in terms of treatment, and that’s the current plan. That’s the plan right now — to play,” she said, per the Daily Mail. “I have a lower-leg niggle that I’ve been dealing with since before Queen’s — actually from the back end of the clay-court season. I’ve been managing it. Five matches [at Queen’s] after having not competed for a while, I think it was just a lot of load. But I’m just managing it with my team as best as I possibly can, exhausting all options, and doing what we can.”
