Rafael Nadal, Emma Raducanu and other big-name players set to miss Wimbledon

Shahida Jacobs 21 Jun 2023 10:22 AM

Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu are two star players who will be absent from the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, but there are a few others who could join them on the sidelines.

The third Grand Slam of the year gets underway on July 3 at the All England Club and the main draw has already been robbed of a few high-profile names.

With more than a week to go before the action gets underway, there are still question marks over the fitness of one or two other players, including last year’s finalist Nick Kyrgios.

But let’s look at the list of players who are officially OUT of this year’s grass-court major.

Rafael Nadal

Two-time champion Nadal is the biggest injury casualty ahead of this year’s Wimbledon as the tennis great is currently recovering from hip surgery. The 22-time Grand Slam winner also missed his French Open title defence and has played only four matches this year.

There have been suggestions that he could return to action later this year, but for now he is aiming to make a comeback at the beginning of 2024 with next year set to be his final season on the Tour.

Marin Cilic

2014 US Open champion Cilic remains sidelined with a knee problem that he picked up at the start of the year.

The Croatian, who finished runner-up in 2017 to Roger Federer when the Swiss won his eighth and final Wimbledon title, also missed the 2022 edition due to injury.

Jack Draper

Rising British star Draper enjoyed his breakthrough season last year as he surged into the top 50 of the ATP Rankings and was expected to carry that form over to this year.

However, his campaign has been disrupted by injury as an abdominal problem forced him to miss several weeks early in the year before a shoulder injury resulted in him pulling out of Wimbledon.

Pablo Carreno Busta

The Spaniard was set to be seeded as he is currently inside the top 30 of the ATP Rankings, but he hasn’t played any competitive tennis since the Madrid Open and it didn’t come as a big surprise when he withdrew from Wimbledon.

Emma Raducanu

Despite her struggle for form, 2021 US Open champion Raducanu was once again set to be the face of Wimbledon this year, but she underwent surgery on both wrists and her ankle.

Raducanu, though, would have needed a wildcard from organisers to play in the main draw otherwise she would have had to go through qualifying as she had slipped outside the top 100 in the WTA Rankings.

Simona Halep

The 2018 Wimbledon champion has not played on the WTA Tour since the 2022 US Open as she is currently suspended following a failed drugs test in August last year.

It remains to be seen when Halep will return to action as her hearing has been delayed several times.

Amanda Anisimova

The American youngster reached the quarter-final last year as she took out Coco Gauff, but the 21-year-old won’t feature this year as she is currently on an extended break due to burnout and concerns over her mental health.

Other Wimbledon doubts

Nick Kyrgios

There are major injury clouds over last year’s Wimbledon runner-up as Kyrgios has played only one match so far in 2023.

After missing the five months of the year following knee surgery in January, the Australian finally made his return at the Stuttgart Open last year – losing the first round against Yibing Wu.

He was expected to play at the Halle Open this week, but withdrew stating “I’m still dealing with a couple of things with my knee”.

Matteo Berrettini

The 2021 Wimbledon finalist has struggled with an abdominal injury since the start of the clay-court season. Like Kyrgios, he made his return in Stuttgart but lost in the first round.

The Italian was then due to defend his Queen’s Club Championship title, but withdrew as he is still struggling with his stomach injury.

Paula Badosa

After missing the Australian Open and French Open, there are now also doubts over Badosa’s Wimbledon participation as she is still back stress fracture that ruled her out of Roland Garros.