British tennis players are dealing with a string of injuries and withdrawals as the clay swing and Grand Slam schedule intensify.
A run of injuries and withdrawals has left British tennis under the spotlight again, with Emma Raducanu, Jack Draper, Sonay Kartal and Jacob Fearnley all affected during the clay-court swing.
Raducanu withdrew from the Italian Open in Rome because of post-viral illness after returning to the city for practice and media duties. Draper has been ruled out of the French Open with a knee tendon injury after retiring in Barcelona and also managing a prior arm problem. BBC reporting says Kartal has been out since March 12 with a back injury and Fearnley has also had injury disruption.
The central issue is load management. BBC Sport quoted LTA performance director Michael Bourne as saying high load is a major driver of injuries and that tennis players cannot be substituted once a match starts. That makes the sport different from team games, where injured players can be replaced and workloads shared.
The WTA rulebook also requires players who withdraw on site to complete media obligations unless their medical condition prevents it, which helps explain why Raducanu’s Rome withdrawal came after she had already done media duties.
The concern is not limited to Britain. Carlos Alcaraz has also withdrawn from the French Open with a wrist injury, underlining how punishing the schedule can be across the tour. For British players, though, the combination of injuries, travel and surface changes has once again highlighted how quickly a season can unravel.
The immediate question is whether any of the injured British players can recover in time for the grass-court season.
Revision note
Initial automated publication.