'Miserable Monday!': British Tennis Suffers Worst-Ever Wimbledon Opening Day After Raducanu, Draper Withdraw and 10 Stars Crash Out

Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper pulled out injured before playing a match as Britain's opening-day nightmare became the worst in the Open Era

What began with hopes of a strong home campaign turned into one of the darkest days in British Wimbledon history.

Britain endured its worst opening day of the Open Era after Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper withdrew injured before hitting a ball, while 10 of the 11 home players in action crashed out in the first round.

The disastrous day surpassed the previous record of nine opening-day defeats and left British hopes hanging by a thread before the tournament had properly begun.

Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper injury blows leave Britain reeling at Wimbledon

The misery began even before play got underway.

Emma Raducanu withdrew on Sunday night after scans revealed a stress fracture in her right leg, ending her Wimbledon campaign before it started. The 2021 US Open champion had recently enjoyed one of her strongest grass-court seasons, reaching the Queen's Club final, but her injury problems resurfaced at the worst possible time.

Hours later, British No. 1 Jack Draper also pulled out with a recurrence of the arm injury that had already sidelined him for seven months earlier this season.

Their withdrawals robbed Wimbledon of its two biggest British stars and meant lucky losers took their places in the draw-both of whom also lost in the opening round.

Record-breaking Wimbledon day as British players tumble out

With Raducanu and Draper already gone, the remaining British players failed to halt the slide.

Among the casualties were:

• Cameron Norrie lost a five-set thriller to American qualifier Michael Zheng.
• Harriet Dart pushed Jelena Ostapenko to three sets before bowing out.
• Fran Jones lost in straight sets to Diane Parry.
• Oliver Tarvet fought for over four hours before losing to Arthur Rinderknech.
• Teenagers Mimi Xu and Hannah Klugman were beaten by Daria Kasatkina and defending champion Barbora Krejcikova respectively.
• Wildcards Mika Stojsavljevic, Felix Gill, Alicia Dudeney and Max Basing also exited in the opening round.

Jack Pinnington Jones remained Britain's only unfinished match after play was suspended because of bad light with the Brit trailing Brandon Nakashima by two sets.

By the end of the day, British players had won just five of the 29 sets they contested.

Cameron Norrie: 'It stinks'

British No. 1 Cameron Norrie admitted the defeat was particularly painful after falling in five sets.

"I fought really hard. I felt the desire, the hunger, which is important. It's just tough to fight every point, and you come out on the losing side. But that's sport."

Reflecting on losing at his favourite tournament, Norrie added:

"It always stinks to lose, especially at Wimbledon. I think it just takes probably a week or so for this kind of loss to get over. There's no hiding from it."

Harriet Dart refuses to blame pressure

Harriet Dart rejected suggestions that the burden of playing at home contributed to Britain's poor showing.

"It's not just being a British player out there. I think every player has pressure, regardless of the situation. No matter how many times you do it, someone's always feeling the pressure. It's just how people handle it."

Injury concerns raise questions for British tennis

The double withdrawal of Raducanu and Draper has reignited concerns over Britain's leading stars, both of whom have struggled with recurring injuries.

Former British No. 1 Tim Henman believes Raducanu's biggest challenge is no longer her tennis.

"Does Emma need to change anything in her tennis game? Absolutely not. Does she need to become physically more resilient? One hundred per cent yes."

Henman pointed to her inability to stay healthy through consecutive tournaments as the biggest obstacle to fulfilling her potential.

Worst opening day in Wimbledon history

The numbers underline just how bleak the day proved to be for British tennis.

• 10 British first-round defeats-the most ever on Wimbledon opening day in the Open Era.
• Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper withdrew before playing.
• British players won just five of 29 sets contested.
• Britain's previous opening-day record was nine defeats, set twice between 2005 and 2007.

With several of the country's biggest names already gone, Britain's hopes now rest on a shrinking group of players to prevent Wimbledon 2026 from becoming one of the nation's most disappointing Grand Slam campaigns in recent memory.