Emma Raducanu will not compete at Wimbledon 2026, pulling out on the eve of the tournament after medical scans confirmed a stress fracture in her lower right leg. The 23-year-old British number one, seeded 30th, had been scheduled to open her campaign Monday on Court One against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic.
The announcement arrived just after 10pm local time on Sunday, barely seven hours after Raducanu had stood before the media at the All England Club and insisted she intended to play. The gap between those two moments told a story of sheer determination ultimately overtaken by medical reality.
Concerns had been building throughout the week. Raducanu was spotted in a protective boot on Wednesday, then missed training entirely on Thursday and Friday. She returned to the court Saturday wearing strapping on her right leg but cut short a practice set against Anna Kalinskaya after moving gingerly. Sunday's session with hitting partner Alexis Canter showed modest improvement, though she was never fully tested on her movement.
The former 2021 US Open champion revealed she had been managing the problem since the back end of the clay-court season, well before her impressive run to the Queen's Club final just two weeks ago. Five matches in rapid succession during that tournament significantly loaded the injury.
"I've done everything possible to try to get to the start line," Raducanu wrote on Instagram, adding that being advised to stop pushing through was "really difficult to process." This marks the second time in four years she has been forced to miss her home Grand Slam.
Tim Henman and Anne Keothavong both described the news as devastating, a sentiment shared by British tennis fans everywhere. TennisDraw users who had backed Raducanu for a deep home run will need to rethink their bracket picks entirely.
