Wimbledon 2022: Are Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka playing?
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Updated 20/06/2022 at 10:29 GMT
Who's playing Wimbledon? Will Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Naomi Osaka and Daniil Medvedev play? The third Grand Slam of the tennis season starts on June 27 and there is uncertainty over the fitness of some of the headline entrants. Novak Djokovic will be defending men's champion while Iga Swiatek will be aiming to win the women's title.
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Wimbledon is set to start on June 27 as Novak Djokovic bids to win the Grand Slam for a fourth time in a row and Iga Swiatek aims to follow up her French Open victory with another major title.
Russian and Belarusian players will not be permitted to play at SW19 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
But will Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu, Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka contend at the third Grand Slam of the season?
We look at the players who are set to play Wimbledon and those who are going to miss out…
Andy Murray
Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray enjoyed one of his best weeks in recent memory as he reached the final of the Stuttgart Open earlier this month. Unfortunately, the tournament ended on a negative note as Murray suffered an abdominal injury during defeat to Matteo Berrettini.
Murray, who is working with coach Ivan Lendl for a third spell, pulled out of Queen’s after a scan but is hopeful to be fit for Wimbledon. He may even compete at an exhibition event at the Hurlingham Club in the week before the Grand Slam.
Last year was the first time that Murray had played Wimbledon since 2017. He made it to the third round where he was beaten in straight sets by Denis Shapovalov.
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Murray beats Kyrgios in straight sets to reach final of BOSS Open in Stuttgart
Emma Raducanu
What was expected to be a happy homecoming for US Open champion Emma Raducanu has not gone according to plan so far.
The 19-year-old lasted just 35 minutes of her first grass match of the season at the Nottingham Open before pulling out due to a side injury.
She will not compete at the Eastbourne International, leaving her short of grass practice ahead of competing at her home Grand Slam for just the second time after her shock run to the last 16 on debut a year ago.
Raducanu won three matches in straight sets at Wimbledon in 2021 before withdrawing against Ajla Tomljanovic due to breathing issues.
Rafael Nadal
Australian Open. Check. French Open. Check. Wimbledon?
Nadal, 35, has confounded expectations by winning the first two Grand Slams of the year and is on course for the Calendar Slam for the first time in his career. The last man to win all four majors in the same season was Rod Laver in 1969.
There was doubt over whether Nadal would compete at Wimbledon after undergoing treatment for his chronic football problem. However, after practising on grass in Mallorca he has confirmed that he is planning to play at SW19, and is also set to compete at the Hurlingham Club next week.
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“My intention is to try to play Wimbledon if there is any chance, and the feeling this week tells me there is a chance. My intention is to travel there; if as the days go by things don’t go as we expect, we’ll see what happens.
“I haven’t played Wimbledon for three years and I’m excited. I don’t know what can happen in five days. I’m cautious but what has happened so far gives me hope that I can be present.”
Nadal has made the semi-finals in his last two Wimbledon appearances in 2018 and 2019.
Serena Williams
After a year away, Serena Williams made the shock announcement that she will play Wimbledon.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion is making her return to the court at the Eastbourne International in doubles alongside world No. 5 Ons Jabeur. She will then enter Wimbledon with a singles wild card.
Williams is ranked No. 1,208 in the world as she has not played since suffering a leg injury in the first round against Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Wimbledon last year. She will fall off the rankings altogether after Wimbledon, where there are no ranking points on offer after the ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
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Williams is a seven-time Wimbledon champion and prior to her withdrawal last year had made the final in her previous two appearances. She is still bidding to win another Grand Slam title to move her level with Margaret Court’s all-time record.
“I think if you're out for a whole year, it's very difficult because you're not playing any matches. Even if you only practise a lot. It's not the same. But one thing is for sure, nobody wants to play against Serena Williams. So the other 127 players are going to be scared to draw Serena Williams.”
Venus Williams
There will not be any Williams doubles action at Wimbledon this summer.
Five-time singles champion Venus Williams, 42, has not played on the tour since last August and has confirmed she will not be returning on grass.
“Well, so no, I’m not playing,” she said on Instagram. “Will be watching, watching Serena.”
Venus’ last singles title at Wimbledon was in 2008 while she most recently won the doubles with Serena in 2016.
Roger Federer
While Serena Williams is making her return at Wimbledon, Roger Federer will not be back at his most successful Slam.
The eight-time Wimbledon champion made the quarter-finals last year but hasn’t played since after undergoing knee surgery. He is signed up to play the Laver Cup in September and also the Swiss Indoors Basel in October.
Federer’s agent Tony Godsick said recently that the 40-year-old would like to play at SW19 again.
“It was a great effort last year on one leg. And I think he’d like another Wimbledon,” he told the Evening Standard. “That place has been incredibly special to him.”
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Roger Federer will not be back at Wimbledon
Image credit: Getty Images
Naomi Osaka
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka is to miss Wimbledon.
The former world No. 1 has been struggling with an Achilles problem over the last few months.
Osaka tweeted a message on social media explaining that she was trying to ensure that she remembered that "after the storm comes the calm".
She then added simply that "my Achilles still isn’t right so I’ll see you next time" in reference to the grass-court section of the calendar, including Wimbledon.
“I’m not sure why, but if I play Wimbledon without points, it’s more like an exhibition. I know this isn’t true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. I just can’t go at it 100 percent.”
Osaka has not enjoyed much success at Wimbledon so far, losing in the first round in her last appearance in 2019.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic will be able to defend his Wimbledon title despite continuing to be unvaccinated against Covid-19.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has won the last three editions of Wimbledon and is set to join Nadal at the Hurlingham Club the week ahead of the tournament.
Djokovic is currently not permitted to play the US Open as travellers into the country need to be vaccinated.
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Alexander Zverev
World No. 2 Alexander Zverev will not be at Wimbledon as he recovers from ankle surgery.
Zverev went over on his right ankle during his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal and had to retire from the match. He has undergone surgery and it is expected to be touch-and-go whether he is able to return for the US Open, which starts on August 29.
Daniil Medvedev
World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev has looked in good form on grass so far this summer but will not get the chance to play at Wimbledon due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
Wimbledon is the only Slam to have banned Russian and Belarusian players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Medvedev made the fourth round at Wimbledon a year ago and will be permitted to defend his title at the US Open.
"I'm happy that I will be able to defend," he said. "It would be really disappointing if I would not, because that's some great memories and always in US Open, it's an amazing tournament - probably the more special one for me."
World No. 8 Andrey Rublev, world No. 23 Karen Khachanov and world No. 38 Aslan Karatsev will also miss out as they are Russian.
Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka came close to making her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon last year as she was beaten in three sets by Karolina Pliskova in the last four.
But the Belarusian world No. 5 will not get the chance to play at the tournament this year.
Russian world No. 12 Daria Kasatkina will also miss out as will two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka, who is from Belarus.
Dominic Thiem
It’s been a difficult comeback for Dominic Thiem, who returned to the tour in April after nine months out with a wrist injury and is yet to win a match.
Thiem suffered his seventh straight defeat in the first round of the French Open and has pulled out of Wimbledon, where he last won a match in 2017.
“I knew that it was going to take time, that the level is extremely high from all the players competing here and I'm not there yet,” the former world No. 3 said at the French Open.
“I was really working hard to get there but the time was just not enough. I have to accept it and even though it was a really painful defeat now, week after week, it's still nothing unexpected happened. If I would have won many matches or whatever, would have been a big surprise. So it's painful, I'm very disappointed, but it goes on.”
Eugenie Bouchard
Former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard will not be back at SW19 this year.
The 2014 runner-up is recovering from a shoulder injury and has decided to skip Wimbledon as there are no ranking points on offer.
She said in a statement: “I have decided to withdraw from Wimbledon due to the WTA’s decision to not award ranking points at this year’s Championships.
“Due to my shoulder surgery, I get a limited number of protected ranking (PR) entries. As much as I love Wimbledon and skipping it makes me sad, using a PR entry at a tournament with no ranking points doesn’t make sense. I must choose wisely and use my PR entries at tournaments that will help me get back to where I want to be.”
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Watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ from June 27, as well as the two singles finals live on July 9 and 10.
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