Wimbledon withdrawal list: Carlos Alcaraz likely to be joined by several other players
The start of Wimbledon 2026 is still four weeks away, but the tournament has already been hit by a couple of withdrawals with Carlos Alcaraz the highest-profile player who won’t feature at this year’s tournament.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Alcaraz has not played any tennis since mid-April as he injured his right wrist during his first-round win at the Barcelona and was subsequently ruled out of the Madrid Open, Italian Open and French Open.
He was initially hopeful he would be fit for the grass-court season, but after seeing several specialists, he was told not to play as he would risk further damage and announced: “Unfortunately, I’m still not ready to be able to play, and that’s why I have to withdraw from the grass-court swing at Queen’s and Wimbledon.”
As things stand, Alcaraz is the only player to have officially withdrawn from the Wimbledon entry list, but there are major concerns over a host of other ATP stars before the tournament gets underway on Monday, 29 June.
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World No 11 Lorenzo Musetti missed the French Open due to a left thigh injury, a left hip injury kept world No 20 Arthur Fils out of his home Grand Slam while Jack Draper and Holger Rune were also absent.
All four are yet to confirm their return to action.
Meanwhile, 2021 Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini reached the quarter-final at Roland Garros, but was forced to retire from his match against fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi due to a hip injury.
ATP Wimbledon withdrawal list
- Carlos Alcaraz (world No 2) – replaced by Jan Choinski
WTA Wimbledon withdrawal list
Like Berrettini, Hailey Baptiste’s French Open campaign was also ended by injury as she retired after suffering a horrific knee injury during her second-round match.
The American has had an excellent couple of months as she reached the quarter-final in Miami and semi-final in Madrid, beating world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka during her run in the Spanish capital.
But she suffered injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in her left knee and will be out for at least six months.
British No 1 Sonay Kartal has also withdrawn as she continues to struggle with a back injury.
- Hailey Baptiste (world No 26) – replaced by Hanne Vandewinkel
- Sonay Kartal (world No 60) – replaced by Paula Badosa
- Varvara Gracheva (world No 67) – replaced Sinja Kraus
2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova remains on the entry list, but there is a question mark about her participation as she has not competed since this year’s Australian Open.
She has withdrawn from several tournaments since she was charged by the International Tennis Integrity Agency for “refusing or failing to submit to Sample collection without compelling justification after notification by a duly authorized Person”.
The charge, though, does not come with a provisional suspension and is still free to compete.
