Emma Raducanu is no longer in the draw following her withdrawal from Wimbledon.
Raducanu confirmed a stress fracture in her lower right leg had forced her to pull out of Wimbledon, just one day before her first round match against Antonia Ruzic, after days of speculation.
This is the second time in four years that Raducanu has been forced to miss her home Grand Slam due to injury, with the Briton missing Wimbledon in 2023 after undergoing surgeries on both wrists and her left ankle.
Raducanu’s withdrawal means that she has now been replaced in the draw, with Ruzic now facing a lucky loser.
Emma Raducanu replaced Darja Semenistaja at Wimbledon
Lucky losers are usually announced straight after a player withdraws, but as Raducanu did not pull out until late on Sunday evening, it has taken until Monday morning.
Raducanu has now officially been replaced by world number 104 Darja Semenistaja, who will play Ruzic later in the day.
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Raducanu confirmed a stress fracture in her lower right leg…
Semenistaja lost in the third round of qualifying at Wimbledon this year, but she has now been given a lifeline to make her main draw debut.
This will be a second meeting between the two players, with Semenistaja beating Ruzic in straight sets when they played in the Billie Jean King Cup last year.
If Semenistaja is able to beat Ruzic again, then it could be an all Latvian second round, with Jelena Ostapenko a potential second round opponent.
Wimbledon make scheduling change after Emma Raducanu withdrawal
Raducanu and Ruzic were originally scheduled onto Court No.1 for their first round match, but the Briton’s withdrawal has now caused a change in schedule.
Instead, there is another British player in that slot, as Harriet Dart takes on the aforementioned Ostapenko in the first match of the day on the second biggest court at Wimbledon.
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Ruzic and Semenistaja have subsequently been moved down to the significantly smaller Court No.17 at Wimbledon.
The winner of these two matches will face each other in the second round, with a potential third round encounter against world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
