Emma Raducanu has pulled out of the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon. The Brit was going to team up with Andy Murray in his farewell at SW19
They were set to play last on Court 1 on Saturday. Raducanu herself said the schedule was “not ideal” as she will have to return on Sunday for her fourth-round singles match.
The 21-year-old revealed that she woke up with some stiffness in her right wrist and had to make the difficult decision to withdraw.
A statement from the Raducanu camp said: “Unfortunately I woke up with some stiffness in my right wrist this morning, so therefore I have decided to make the very tough decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight. I’m disappointed as I was really looking forward to playing with Andy but got to take care.”
It means that Murray’s Wimbledon career is officially over. The two-time singles champion at SW19 cannot find a new partner under the rules.
He played his last match at the All England Club with his brother Jamie in the men’s doubles on Thursday and was honoured with an on-court ceremony attended by the likes of Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek and Cameron Norrie, and hosted by Sue Barker.
It is understood that Raducanu’s team were hesitant about her decision to participate in the mixed doubles. And the 21-year-old wasn’t pleased when she came off of the singles court on Friday to see the schedule for her match with Murray.
After beating Maria Sakkari at around 7.20pm, the British No. 3 was asked what she made of the All England Club’s decision to put her and Murray last on Saturday. “Yeah, I know. The scheduling of that was not ideal,” she replied.
At the time, Raducanu was still planning to play. She added: “I mean, it’s just an amazing opportunity to be able to play with him. It’s something that I’m going to cherish.
Raducanu was also quizzed on whether she had any input. “No. I just came off court and found out myself,” she said. The former world No. 10 is due to play Lulu Sun in the fourth round of the women’s singles competition on Sunday.
This is her best result at a Grand Slam tournament since she won the US Open as a qualifier in 2021. And Raducanu would not have to face a seeded player until the semi-final if she makes it that far. She needed just 92 minutes to upset the world No. 9 in the third round on Friday.
