For the first time in 26 years, the men’s tournament will not feature a single representative from the Big Four with a realistic claim to the title.
Rafael Nadal has decided to withdraw from Wimbledon 2024 to focus his attention on the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Roger Federer has retired in 2022 and Andy Murray has recently been injured and could miss the singles competition. At the same time, he should definitely be paired with his older brother Jamie.
Novak Djokovic was injured at Roland Garros and underwent surgery. He is preparing intensively for Wimbledon and the Olympics, but it is not yet known exactly what condition he will be in. Perhaps he will participate in the tournament, but it is unlikely that he will be able to reach the final. However, a number of tennis players will definitely not play in England.
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal recently confirmed that he will skip Wimbledon to prepare for the Paris Olympics, which will take place on clay at Roland Garros. The decision was made after Nadal realized that it was better for him not to change the surface and continue playing on clay.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion’s season has been marred by injuries. He has barely appeared on the court and is currently 7-5, with appearances in the fourth round in Madrid and the second round in Barcelona and Rome. He was eliminated in the first round of Roland-Garros after his defeat against Alexander Zverev.
Nadal is expected to compete on the clay courts of the Nordea Open in Bastad a few weeks before the Olympics.
Nick Kyrgios
Wimbledon 2022 finalist Nick Kyrgios continues to enjoy his work as a commentator and analyst. The last time he participated in the ATP Tour was exactly one year ago.
The Australian underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in early 2023, which kept him out of action for the first half of last year. He returned on the tour to Stuttgart, where he lost his first match against Wu Yibing 5:7, 3:6, but he did not know that it was his last match of the season. While training for Wimbledon, he tore a ligament in his wrist, which will rule him out until the end of 2023.
Since then, constant injuries have prevented him from competing. He also admitted last year that he was “tired” and did not want to return to tennis anytime soon.
Jiri Legechka
Rising Czech star Jiri Legecka has been sidelined since suffering a back injury in Madrid that forced him to withdraw from his semi-final against Félix Auger-Aliassime. He withdrew from the French Open shortly after and recently confirmed he would also miss Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics. The severity of Legeczka’s injury is also unknown at the moment and leaves doubt over when he will be able to return.
Leeckka has won seventeen of his twenty-six matches this season. His best result was in Madrid, where he reached the semifinals with victories over Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev. He also reached the quarterfinals in Indian Wells and Dubai.
Milos Raonic
Milos Raonic recently withdrew from Wimbledon after failing to qualify for the main draw as a wild card. This season, he has appeared little on the field and currently has 6 wins and 4 losses.
The 2016 Wimbledon finalist reached the quarter-finals in Rotterdam, but was forced to withdraw from his match against Jannik Sinner. He reached another quarter-final in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, beating eighth seed Jordan Thompson and Roberto Bautista Agut, before losing to eventual champion Alex de Minaur. Any hopes of making the main draw at Wimbledon were dashed by his lack of tennis play and his rankings fell hard.
Petra Kvitova
Petra Kvitova will also not participate in Wimbledon this year. She hasn’t performed since January after announcing her pregnancy.
The two-time Wimbledon champion has not played a single match all year and last competed at the 2023 China Open, where she lost to Lyudmila Samsonova in the second round in straight sets 4-6, 5-7. Seeded ninth at Wimbledon last year, she reached the fourth round with wins over Jasmine Paolini, Aleksandra Sasnovich and Natalja Kostic before being crushed by Ons Jabeur 0-6, 3-6.
Belinda Bencic
Belinda Bencic’s absence from the WTA Tour continues due to maternity leave and she has not competed professionally since the San Diego tournament in September 2023.
The Swiss tennis player announced she was pregnant last November and gave birth to daughter Bella on April 23 earlier this year. For the moment, she has not yet announced anything about her possible return to competition.
Simona Halep
2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep returned to the tour at the Miami Open earlier this year after an 18-month absence from professional competition due to a doping suspension. She has not competed since the 2022 US Open, where she tested positive for roxadustat.
The former world number one was initially suspended for four years, but the sentence was later reduced by CAS to nine months on the grounds that it was not entirely her fault.
In Miami, Halep lost in the first round to Paula Badosa 6-1, 4-6, 3-6 in the first round. Since then, she has not appeared on the field and has complained of knee problems.
Halep last appeared on the courts of Wimbledon in 2022, when she lost to Elena Rybakina in the semifinals 3-6, 3-6.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev/Athletistic
Source: Sport
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
