Former World No 3 Milos Raonic has been added to the growing list of Wimbledon absentees this year. The tall Canadian has decided to pull out of The Championships after suffering from a calf injury.
“It has been a long time since I have shared an update here. I wanted to share that I am incredible sad and hurt that I won’t be ready to compete at Wimbledon this year,” he said in an Instagram post on Sunday.
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“It is a pinnacle in my schedule each and every year. I was working hard preparing (for) many of the recent tournaments.
“On the second to last day I hurt my calf. I have been working hard to heal it but had a minor setback. Therefore I won’t be ready for Wimbledon. I will be working hard to get back as soon as possible.”
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Raonic is the fourth high-profile player to have withdrawn from this year’s event so far. The likes of Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka have already pulled out of the elite tournament.
This will be the seventh time the injury-ravaged World No 18 has been forced to skip a Grand Slam since he made the 2016 Wimbledon final. That list includes four consecutive French Opens since 2018.
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The latest injury further delays his comeback. The last he played was in a fourth round loss to Hubert Hurkacz at the Miami Masters in March.
Simona Halep doubtful for Wimbledon
Former World No 1 and defending champion Simona Halep has raised concerns about her availability for Wimbledon this year.
The two-time Grand Slam champion was scheduled to compete at the tune-up WTA 250 event in Bad Homburg, Germany, but pulled out due to a calf problem.
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“I’d just like to announce I will not compete this week because my calf is not ready for competition,” she said in a video posted on social media.
🌱
Hopefully I’ll be back here in the future to play @badhomburgopen 🙏 pic.twitter.com/PeKYpISn3d
— Simona Halep (@Simona_Halep) June 19, 2021
“I feel sorry about that and sad because it’s a beautiful place, (but) at the same time I would like to thank everybody here (in Bad Homburg) because the conditions are great and I really enjoyed my time here.
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“I will keep practicing because I really want to be able to play in Wimbledon. But for now I have to take care of my body and see how the recovery is going.”
This will be the second Grand Slam in a row that Halep will miss. She pulled out of the French Open last month due to the same calf issue.
