A step forward, then a step back. A moment of progress, then the body fails.
Emma Raducanu, the young British tennis star whose 2021 US Open triumph announced her to the world, withdrew from Wimbledon on Sunday night after a final medical scan confirmed what her body had been signalling all week — a stress fracture in her lower right leg. Hours earlier she had told the press she would play, a testament to how deeply competing at her home Grand Slam mattered to her. The withdrawal is not merely a scheduling loss but another instalment in a longer story about the fragility of athletic promise and the patience required to realise it.
- A stress fracture discovered in a late-evening scan forced Raducanu to reverse her public commitment to play, just hours before her Monday opening match against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Court One.
- The injury had been visible all week — a protective boot on Wednesday, cancelled training sessions Thursday and Friday, cautious strapped-up practice on Saturday — yet hope persisted until the final scan extinguished it.
- Raducanu's afternoon declaration to the press that she would compete now reads as the words of a player willing herself forward against mounting physical evidence, making the evening reversal all the more jarring.
- The withdrawal extends a punishing injury cycle that has shadowed her since her 2021 breakthrough: a bone bruise ended her 2025 season early, a viral illness cost her four months of competition, and now Wimbledon is lost before it began.
- A promising run to the Queen's final had rekindled genuine belief that sustained momentum was finally within reach — belief that evaporated across a single week of scans and strapping tape.
Emma Raducanu withdrew from Wimbledon on Sunday night, hours before she was due to face Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Court One. A final scan that evening confirmed a stress fracture in her lower right leg, overturning the commitment she had made to journalists that very afternoon. "I've done everything possible to try to get to the start line," she said in her statement, "but after a final scan tonight the niggle I've been managing has developed into a stress fracture."
The signs had been accumulating all week. Raducanu was seen in a protective boot on Wednesday, missed training entirely on Thursday and Friday, and returned on Saturday only for a cautious session with her leg heavily strapped. She began a practice set on Sunday morning and looked marginally more fluid — less guarded when pushing off on forehands — but it was still a far cry from the explosive movement competitive tennis demands. When she spoke to the press that afternoon and said she was prepared to take the risk, it sounded like a player trying to convince herself as much as anyone else.
The withdrawal lands as another painful chapter in a career that has never quite found its footing since the extraordinary 2021 US Open victory. Bone bruising cut short her 2025 season in October. A viral illness in early February limited her to six matches over four months. Her run to the Queen's final earlier this month had felt like a turning point — a sign that she might finally sustain momentum at Wimbledon, where she had reached the fourth round in both 2021 and 2024. That optimism lasted less than a week.
"Playing at Wimbledon, in front of a home crowd, means everything to me, so this is really difficult to process," she said. Raducanu spoke of the support of her team and family as an anchor through setbacks, and at the French Open she had reflected openly on the mental toll of recurring obstacles. But psychology has its limits against a stress fracture. For now, another recovery period begins, and the consistency her career needs remains deferred.
Emma Raducanu pulled out of Wimbledon on Sunday night, just hours before she was scheduled to play her opening match. The British tennis player, seeded 30th, announced her withdrawal shortly after 10 p.m., revealing that a stress fracture had developed in her lower right leg. She was meant to face Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Monday on Court One.
The decision came as a shock largely because Raducanu had told journalists that very afternoon—around 3 p.m.—that she intended to compete. But a final scan that evening changed everything. "I've done everything possible to try to get to the start line," she said in her withdrawal statement, "but after a final scan tonight the niggle I've been managing has developed into a stress fracture. I've been medically advised to stop pushing through."
The injury had been brewing all week. On Wednesday, Raducanu was spotted wearing a protective boot. By Thursday and Friday, she couldn't train at all, hampered by what appeared to be a shin problem. On Saturday, she returned to practice in a gentle session, her lower right leg wrapped in strapping. She started another practice set against Russia's Anna Kalinskaya but stopped with ten minutes remaining. Sunday morning brought slight improvement—she looked less guarded during a session with hitting partner Alexis Canter, particularly when pushing off her right leg on forehands—but it was still a cautious affair, nothing like the full-throttle movement required for competitive tennis.
Yet when she spoke to the media that Sunday afternoon, Raducanu expressed willingness to take the risk. She said she was prepared to push herself, to accept the danger, because playing at Wimbledon in front of a home crowd meant everything to her. Those words now read as a player trying to convince herself as much as anyone else. The evidence of the previous seventy-two hours suggested her body was telling a different story.
This withdrawal marks another chapter in a career defined by physical setbacks. Raducanu won the US Open in 2021 at age eighteen, a stunning breakthrough. Since then, injuries have been relentless. Bone bruising on her right foot ended her 2025 season in October and compromised her off-season training. A viral illness struck in early February, after she reached the Transylvanian Open final, limiting her to just six matches over four months. Her run to the Queen's final earlier this month had sparked genuine hope—maybe this would be the year she could sustain momentum at Wimbledon, where she'd reached the fourth round in both 2021 and 2024.
That optimism evaporated in a week. "Playing at Wimbledon, in front of a home crowd, means everything to me, so this is really difficult to process," Raducanu said after announcing her withdrawal. At the French Open last month, she had spoken openly about how hard it is to maintain a positive mindset when obstacles keep appearing. The pattern repeats: a step forward, then a step back. A moment of progress, then the body fails.
Raducanu emphasized the support around her—her team, her family, her friends—and said that being surrounded by positive influences helps her navigate these setbacks. But there's only so much psychology can do against a stress fracture. For now, she faces another period of recovery, another delay in building the consistency her career desperately needs.
Notable Quotes
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.— Emma Raducanu
Playing at Wimbledon, in front of a home crowd, means everything to me, so this is really difficult to process.— Emma Raducanu
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did she wait so long to withdraw? She could have made the call earlier in the week.
Because it's Wimbledon. For a British player, especially one who won a Grand Slam, missing your home tournament feels like a failure in a way other tournaments don't. She was hoping the scan would show something manageable, something she could play through.
But the scans don't lie. A stress fracture is a stress fracture.
Right. And that's why she had to listen to the doctors. But you can understand why she held on as long as she could—she wanted to believe she could do it.
This is her fifth injury setback in five years. At what point does the pattern become the story?
It already is the story. She's 23 and she's won a Grand Slam, but she's barely been able to string together a season without something breaking. The talent is undeniable. The body just won't cooperate.
Does she come back from this?
Physically, yes. Mentally, that's the harder question. How many times can you be told you're not ready before you start to believe it?