Emma Raducanu pulled out of Wimbledon after confirming an injury “niggle” in her lower right leg “developed into a stress fracture”. The British No 1 had been scheduled to play Antonia Ruzic in the opening match on Court No 1 but withdrew late last night.
It is the latest blow to the 23-year-old in what has been a difficult season for the former US Open champion, as well as the tournament as a whole. It marks the second time in four years that Raducanu has missed her home grand slam due to injury.
On the opening Monday, defending champion Jannik Sinner will begin play on Centre Court, with the men’s No 1 starting his title defence against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic. Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic also headline Centre Court.
After Raducanu’s withdrawal, several British players will have the chance to shine on day one, including men’s No 1 Cameron Norrie and women’s No 3 Fran Jones. There were early defeats, though, for Mika Stojsavljevic, Felix Gill and Max Basing.
Follow latest scores and updates from Wimbledon, below:
Next up at Wimbledon: Cameron Norrie and Harriet Dart
Cameron Norrie is, once again, the last British No 1 standing at a grand slam after the withdrawal of Emma Raducanu. Norrie is a former Wimbledon semi-finalist and loves this tournament, reaching the quarter-finals last year where an inspired Carlos Alcaraz was needed to end his run. His is a break up on Michael Zheng, an impressive qualifier who is still yet to graduate from college.
Over on Court No 1, Harriet Dart is stepping into Raducanu’s slot. She’s got a tough first round against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who was very close to being a seed this week.
The new Rafa? Jodar knocks out Felix Gill in straight sets
Yep, too good from Rafael Jodar. Wimbledon does not have Carlos Alcaraz this year, but it does have a new Rafa. The 19-year-old wins on his Wimbledon debut, showing too much class against Felix Gill, the British wildcard.
Jodar upped his level in the third set after Gill attempted a fightback. Impressive. 6-3 6-3 7-5
British qualifier Max Basing knocked out after 6-3 6-0 6-0 defeat
Max Basing was perhaps the Cinderella story of the qualifying week. The 23-year-old, who trained at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Manacor as a teenager, had previously lost in the first round of qualifying in ATP Challenger events at Birmingham, Ilkley and Nottingham this grass-court season, as well as in the semi-finals of Wimbledon’s pre-qualifying event.
Granted a wildcard into Wimbledon qualifying anyway, the world No 331 duly won three matches in a row reach the main draw of a grand slam for the first time. Basing’s five-set win over Remy Bertola also came just 10 weeks after tearing his hamstring. “It’s been a dream of mine since I’ve started playing tennis,” he said.
But his debut did not go to plan. Basing lost 6-3 6-0 6-0 to another qualifier, Shintaro Mochizuki, who is building a solid season and is ranked about 150 places higher in the rankings. A tough day, but a week to remember.
Felix Gill and Max Basing on the brink of defeat
Rafael Jodar, the 23rd seed and a potential future star after his breakout clay season, is turning on the style as he moves a game away from victory against Felix Gill.
Max Basing, the British qualifier, is one game from a heavy defeat to Shintaro Mochizuki, who also qualified for the main draw.
Mochizuki has been ruthless and is yet to drop a game in the second or third sets.
Wimbledon star sacks father as coach: ‘It will take him some time to accept it’
Former grand slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas says he has sacked his father Apostolos Tsitsipas as his coach.
Tsitsipas, the runner-up at the French Open and Australian Open and a former world No 3, confirmed the split ahead of Wimbledon and said his decision was final.
The Greek star, who has fallen to 87th in the world after a difficult couple of years of form, had previously parted ways with his father only to rehire him later.
“It will take him some time to accept it, as it did the last time we split,” Tsitsipas, 27, said ahead of Wimbledon, as reported by Clay.
Jessica Pegula moves into second round
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula joins 11th seed Belinda Bencic in the second round after a routine win over Darja Vidmanova, 7-5 6-3, in one hour and 13 minutes.
Wimbledon day 1 updates
Over on Court 3, Felix Gill is 6-3 6-3 down to talented Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar – but has just broken the 23rd seed for the first time and leads 2-0 in the third set!
Serena Williams on Centre Court in Tuesday’s Order of Play
Serena Williams will make her Wimbledon comeback on Centre Court on Tuesday when the 44-year-old returns to action against Australia’s Maya Joint.
In what is a blockbuster day on Centre Court, Williams will follow the defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek, who plays Taylor Townsend, and Jack Draper’s battle with sixth seed Taylor Fritz.
Williams could therefore take to court for her first singles match in four years at around 6pm BST on Tuesday evening. Here’s the intended order of play:
CENTRE COURT
1:30PM Start
- Taylor Townsend (USA) v Iga Swiatek (POL) [3]
- Taylor Fritz (USA) [6] v Jack Draper (GBR)
- Serena Williams (USA) v Maya Joint (AUS)
Game, Set and Match! Mika Stojsavljevic goes down to 11th seed
Not to be for Mika Stojsavljevic. The 17-year-old got off to a great start against 11th seed Belinda Bencic, the former Olympic champion, but the Swiss eventually showed her class against the British wildcard.
Things got tough in the second set for Stojsavljevic, a former US Open junior champion, but it was followed by a huge roar as the got on the board after Bencic had won 11 games in a row. It ends with a backhand from Bencic.
6-2 6-1, a gulf in class, but a valuable learning experience.
Wimbledon day 1 updates
An update from around the grounds: British wildcard Felix Gill is down a set and a break, 6-3 3-1 to Spanish teenager and 23rd seed Rafael Jodar.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula has taken the first set 7-5 against Darja Vidmanova, while Mika Stojsavljevic has lost the first set 6-2 to 11th seed Belinda Bencic.
Max Basing dropped the first theee games to Shintaro Mochizuki, but has fought back and now trails 4-3 in the first set.
