Bad news from Raducanu: she can't play Wimbledon

Sad news has come from the tennis world. British number one Emma Raducanu has announced she is withdrawing from Wimbledon, the year's third Grand Slam, due to injury. The 23-year-old, who was in the main draw as the No. 30 seed, will thus miss the Grand Slam in her own country for the second time in the last four years.

A serious moment lies behind the decision to pull out. Raducanu was forced to withdraw after a final scan revealed that the problem she had been managing for some time had developed into a stress fracture. The British player had faced the media at the All England Club on Sunday and said she planned to play her Croatian opponent Antonia Ruzic on grass in the first round on Monday. But the picture changed late in the evening, and doctors advised the player to stop pushing through.

In a statement on her social media account, Raducanu expressed her disappointment. She said she had done everything possible to reach the start line, but that after the final scan the situation had developed into a stress fracture and she had been advised to stop pushing through. Stressing that playing at Wimbledon in front of a home crowd means everything to her, the player said that accepting the situation was extremely difficult.

The injury had in fact been on the agenda for a while. Raducanu picked up the problem on her way to the final at Queen's; she then withdrew from Nottingham and Eastbourne and was seen at practice with a protective boot on her right leg. The player, whose star rose suddenly in the tennis world as the 2021 US Open champion but who has battled form and fitness problems since, also missed Wimbledon in 2023 due to a wrist injury.

Image: BBC