Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament after a scan last night revealed she has suffered a stress fracture.
The British No1 had been managing an issue in her lower leg for several weeks but practiced at the All England Club on Sunday and as of the afternoon had been planning on giving it a go in her first round match against Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic.
The former US Open champion was still sporting heavy strapping on her right ankle and shin during practice at Wimbledon on Sunday
But just after 10pm on Sunday she posted on Instagram, saying: ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but sadly I’ve had to withdraw from this year’s Wimbledon.
‘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 is a horrendous end to a grass court season which had started so well for Raducanu. The 23-year-old reached the third final of her career in the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club, losing in the final to Donna Vekic.
The danger signals were there in that 6-0, 7-6 defeat, however, as Raducanu was clearly not moving freely. The next day she withdrew from the Nottingham Open, then the week after that declined the opportunity to play in Eastbourne.
Raducanu’s message on Instagram, posted just after 10pm on Sunday evening
That brought us to the week before Wimbledon but there was still no reason to believe her participation was in any doubt. All that changed on Wednesday night when Raducanu was spotted leaving the All England Club wearing a protective boot on her right foot.
We were told it was simply a niggle but it was clear something was more seriously wrong. Raducanu did not practice at Wimbledon between Monday and Saturday, when she booked back-to-back one-hour practice sessions. The first went OK, although she received treatment from physio Emma Stewart mid-session, and in the second she hit with No19 seed Anna Kalinskaya.
Trailing the Russian 4-0 in a practice set, Raducanu shook her head towards coach Andrew Richardson and cut the practice session 10 minutes short. Then she delayed her pre-tournament press conference by 24 hours. Raducanu was clearly playing for time at this stage, but by the time she faced the media on Sunday she appeared resolved to play, or at least leaning towards doing so.
‘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.
Raducanu missed Nottingham and Eastbourne after reaching the final at Queen’s
‘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.’
But a final scan on the injury late on Sunday evening delivered the bad news.
