Wimbledon release Emma Raducanu statement after Brit told to withdraw | Tennis | Sport

Wimbledon have released a statement after Emma Raducanu withdrew from the Grand Slam last night. Shortly after 10pm, the British No.1 announced that she would not be competing at the All England Club this year due to injury. After practising on the training courts at Wimbledon earlier on Sunday, scans revealed that Raducanu has suffered a stress fracture in her right lower leg and she has been advised against playing.

The 30th seed said: “Hi everyone. 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.”

And Wimbledon responded to the news with a post on X, saying: “We’re so sorry to hear your news, @EmmaRaducanu – get better soon.” There were several days of speculation about Raducanu’s before the tournament after she was seen wearing a protective boot last Wednesday.

The 23-year-old was forced to skip training on Thursday and Friday. Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, was back on court on Saturday but was forced to cut her session with Russia‘s Anna Kalinskaya at Wimbledon short by 10 minutes.

She also cancelled her press conference and rescheduled it for Sunday. Despite a positive hitting session with Alexis Canter and her team, scans later confirmed her stress fracture.

Raducanu, ranked 33rd in the world, was due to be one of just two British seeds in the entire tournament. Her withdrawal leaves Cameron Norrie, the 26th seed in the men’s draw, as the only Brit to be seeded.

Earlier on Sunday, Raducanu had said: “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.

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“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. Queen’s maybe, during that week, was a lot of load for me.

“Five matches after having not competed for a while, I think it was just a lot of load. I’m just managing it with my team as best as I possibly can, exhausting all options and doing what we can. Yesterday I played for an hour before playing with Anna.

“I think everyone knows I took a few days off, I didn’t practice. The first session I was just a little bit tentative, I’d say, hesitant. Today I did feel better on the court, so that’s a positive sign. it’s been tricky. I had a great week at Queen’s. All I want to do is to keep building on that momentum.

“I’ve had a tough start to the season, a lot of time out. I think hearing and feeling this is difficult. I have great people around me. I think that’s one thing that’s really been helping in this latest setback.

“I think having their support, they’re really in it with me. It means a lot to have that.”