Raducanu withdrawal changes Wimbledon opening day as Sinner and Sabalenka lead Centre Court

Wimbledon opens on Monday with a late change to the home storyline after Emma Raducanu withdrew on the eve of the Championships because of a lower-leg stress fracture.

The British No. 1 had been due to start her campaign on No. 1 Court, but confirmed late on Sunday that medical advice had left her unable to push through the injury. The withdrawal removes one of the biggest British names from the women’s draw before a ball has been struck in the main draw.

Raducanu’s absence comes at a frustrating moment after she reached the final at Queen’s earlier in the grass-court swing. WTA and BBC reports both said she had been managing the issue through the week at the All England Club before scans showed it had developed into a stress fracture.

On court, the opening day is still packed with headline matches. Defending men’s champion and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is scheduled to begin Centre Court play against Miomir Kecmanovic from 1.30pm BST. Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka follows against Teodora Kostovic, before seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic faces Wu Yibing.

British interest remains spread across the grounds. Cameron Norrie is listed on No. 2 Court against Michael Zheng, while Oliver Tarvet, Max Basing, Jack Pinnington Jones, Hannah Klugman, Mika Stojsavljevic, Alicia Dudeney, Mimi Xu, Harriet Dart and Francesca Jones are among the home players scheduled on day one.

There were no completed main-draw results at the time of publication, with outside-court play scheduled from 11am BST and the show courts starting later. That makes the first day more about confirmed team sheets and fitness news than scorelines for now.

The Championships run from 29 June to 12 July, with the first two days devoted to men’s and women’s singles first-round matches before doubles competitions join the schedule later in the week.