Emma Raducanu has pulled out of the Madrid Open with a hand injury to leave her Wimbledon hopes in doubt.
Raducanu now faces a race to be fit for the tournament at SW19, which gets underway in just over two months' time. The former US Open champion is also at risk of falling out of the world's top 100, which would deny her an automatic spot for Wimbledon.
Raducanu, 20, was due to face Viktoriya Tomova in the first round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday afternoon. Yet the tournament's Twitter account has confirmed: "Emma Raducanu withdraws from the Mutua Madrid Open due to injury in her right hand."
Raducanu, who is currently ranked No.85, is now expected to fall out of the world's top 100 due to her withdrawal. That is because she will lose the points gained from reaching the third round of the Madrid Open at Caja Magica 12 months ago.
Doubts rose over Raducanu's participation in this year's Madrid Open after she failed to appear on the practice schedules on Wednesday morning. It is unclear how serious her injury is at this stage or whether it will keep her out of Wimbledon.
Even if Raducanu fails to qualify for Wimbledon, she is expected to be offered a wildcard pick by SW19 chiefs due to her status as one of Britain's most popular tennis players. The emerging talent boasts more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram.
Raducanu captured the hearts of the nation by coming out of nowhere to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021. She then achieved the seemingly impossible later that year by becoming the first ever qualifier to win a major title at the US Open.
Raducanu broke into the world's top 10 after her triumph at Flushing Meadows and was expected to kick on after that, but her career has stalled. She has failed to get beyond the second round of a Grand Slam since then and is yet to win another career title.
The Brit has struggled with a series of niggling injuries and her frustration was clear after an awkward press conference ahead of the Madrid Open. Raducanu responded bluntly with just 58 words after being asked 16 different questions from reporters.
The tennis star's answers included "OK", "yeah" and "she played well", as she refused to give the press any insight. Chris Evert, who won 18 Grand Slam titles during her career, has backed Raducanu to regain her best form in the near future.
Evert told Eurosport: "I think I see a little more determination in her eyes, and I know she’s not a flash in the pan. I think she is here to stay, and she is here to compete with the top players... she's definitely going to be a top 10 player.
"She had a tough run after she won the US Open and I don’t think she really knew what hit her after a while, and everybody was really gunning for her, and she played scared a little bit. I think there’s been enough time since the US Open where she can take a deep breath now and she can say that was then, this is now, and this is what I need to do."
