Emma Raducanu will not compete at Wimbledon this year after a medical scan on Sunday night revealed that a lower leg niggle she had been managing had developed into a stress fracture. The British No 1 announced her withdrawal via Instagram, confirming she had been advised to stop playing through the injury.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but sadly I’ve had to withdraw from this year’s Wimbledon,” Raducanu wrote in her post. “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.”
The withdrawal, while confirming what many had anticipated, brings an abrupt end to what had appeared to be a promising return to form. Raducanu had traced the onset of the issue to the latter stages of the clay-court season, with the injury worsening under the workload of the WTA 500 event at Queen’s Club earlier this month. Despite that, she advanced all the way to the final — playing five matches after an extended period without competitive tennis — a run that had raised hopes of a sustained resurgence in her 2025 campaign.
At her pre-tournament press conference, Raducanu had remained cautiously optimistic about her chances of taking to the court. “I’m going to do everything with my team in terms of treatment. That’s the plan right now, to play,” she said. “Queen’s, during that week, was a lot of load for me. Five matches after having not competed for a while. But I’m just managing it with my team as best as I possibly can, exhausting all options and doing what we can.”
She had been scheduled to face Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic on No. 1 Court on Monday in the first round. A final practice session took place at Wimbledon on Sunday before the decision was ultimately taken out of her hands following the scan results.
The withdrawal carries significant ranking implications. Raducanu is currently positioned at No 33 in the live WTA Rankings, and with third-round points from Wimbledon 2024 now undefended, she is likely to drop further as other players accumulate points throughout the tournament.
The setback is the latest in a series of physical obstacles that have disrupted Raducanu’s development since her historic 2021 US Open triumph — a title she claimed as a qualifier ranked outside the top 150. Since that breakthrough, recurring injuries have prevented her from building consistent momentum on tour. Earlier in 2025, she withdrew from multiple events citing the ongoing effects of a virus, going without competitive match play for approximately two months.
Raducanu turns 23 in November, and the coming months will be critical in determining both her physical recovery timeline and her trajectory for the remainder of the season. With Wimbledon now off the schedule, attention turns to when she might next return to competitive action and whether her ranking can be stabilised before the end of the year.
