Britain’s Emma Raducanu will not play at Wimbledon after withdrawing on the eve of her home Grand Slam tournament because of a stress fracture in her lower right leg.
Raducanu, 23, announced the decision shortly after 22:00 BST on Sunday – about seven hours after telling journalists she planned to play.
Raducanu, who is seeded 30th, was due to start her campaign on Monday against Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic on Court One.
“I’ve done everything possible to try to get to the start line but after a final scan tonight the niggle I’ve been managing has developed into a stress fracture,” Raducanu said.
“I’ve been medically advised to stop pushing through.”
Fears about the British number one’s fitness grew over the past week.
Raducanu was spotted wearing a protective boot on Wednesday, then was unable to train on Thursday and Friday because of what is believed to be a shin problem.
The 2021 US Open champion returned to the court on Saturday to test her fitness and, wearing strapping around her lower right leg, started with a gentle hour-long session with her team.
But she then cut short another practice session with Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya – when the pair played a set – with 10 minutes remaining.
There were signs of improvement in her practice session on Sunday morning.
Raducanu was slightly less tentative against hitting partner Alexis Canter – particularly when she pushed with her right leg on the forehand side – but it was not as rigorous a test of her movement as she got against Kalinskaya.
More to follow.