Emma Raducanu issues statement on ‘really difficult’ Wimbledon withdrawal

Emma Raducanu has been forced to withdraw from Wimbledon due to a stress fracture in her foot.

The 23-year-old confirmed the withdrawal on Sunday evening, just hours before she was due to get her campaign underway.

Raducanu was set to play Antonia Ruzic at 1pm on Monday and was hopeful that she was able to manage the nagging injury through the match.

However, the problem has got worse and she has little choice but to pull out of her home Grand Slam.

She wrote on Instagram on Sunday: ‘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.’

It was clearly a very late call as it was only earlier on Sunday that Raducanu had said she was planning to play her opening match.

That came after a practice session, which seemed to have gone well enough to be encouraging for her.

‘I’m going to do everything with my team in terms of treatment,’ she said on Sunday. ‘The plan right now is to play.’

She told a press conference: ‘I’ve been managing it. Queen’s, maybe, was a lot of load for me. Five matches after having not competed for a while, it was just a lot.

‘But I’m just managing it with my team as best as I possibly can, exhausting all options and doing what we can.’