Injured Raducanu withdraws from Wimbledon
· Yahoo Sports
Britain's Emma Raducanu will not play at Wimbledon after withdrawing on the eve of her home Grand Slam because of a stress fracture in her lower right leg.
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Raducanu, 23, announced the decision shortly after 22:00 BST on Sunday - about seven hours after telling journalists she planned to play.
Raducanu, who was 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.
Later on Sunday, Raducanu told the media she was willing to push herself and take more risk with the injury in order to step out at the All England Club.
"Playing at Wimbledon, in front of a home crowd, means everything to me, so this is really difficult to process," Raducanu said.
Raducanu leaves difficult decision as late as she could
To play or not to play? That was the question racing around Raducanu's mind all day on Sunday.
Like any British player, Raducanu does not want to miss Wimbledon - and it is why she left making the decision to pull out until so late.
However, she ultimately felt she had to listen to the advice from doctors.
It is another setback for Raducanu in a career which has been blighted by a series of injury problems since her fairytale US Open victory in New York five years ago.
This season has been disrupted by a viral illness that meant she only played six matches from early February to the start of Queen's earlier this month.
Raducanu's run to the Queen's final bred confidence and increased optimism she could have a successful Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round in 2021 and 2024.
But, yet again, she has been unable to build on that positivity because of her body letting her down.