Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper land huge Wimbledon payday despite pulling out of tournament | Tennis | Sport

Raducanu was due to face Antonia Ruzic in her opening match, but has since been replaced in the draw by lucky loser Darja Semenistaja. Draper, meanwhile, pulled out on Monday afternoon just 24 hours before his blockbuster first-round clash with Taylor Fritz. He explained that he had suffered a recurrence of the arm injury that ruled him out for the majority of last season.

Even though neither player will grace Wimbledon this year, they will still receive half of their first-round prize money under the tournament’s Grand Slam Injury Protection Programme.

Opening match losers are paid £80,000, meaning Raducanu and Draper will each take home £40,000 without hitting a single ball.

However, that is still less than a third of the amount they would have received by reaching the second round, where the prize money jumps to £126,000.

Announcing her withdrawal on Sunday night, Raducanu said: “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.”

Draper followed up with a statement of his own on Monday, which read: “Devastated to share that I have had to withdraw from my first round match due to a recurrence of my arm injury.

“There have been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this one is definitely the absolute worst as there is no greater honour for a British player than playing at Wimbledon. I will continue to persevere through this. Thank you for the support.”