Aryna Sabalenka's withdrawal has blown the women's singles draw at Wimbledon wide open with Emma Raducanu arguably the biggest benefactor once again.
The 2021 US Open champion had already been given a good slice of luck when No 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova pulled out of the tournament early Monday morning.
Raducanu was scheduled to face the Russian tennis star in a tricky first-round match at Wimbledon.
However, Alexandrova withdrew from the tournament on Monday morning with Raducanu given a new opponent.
Emma Raducanu's draw has now opened up significantly
REUTERS
Instead of facing a top seed, Raducanu now goes up against lucky loser Renata Zarazua.
The Mexican tennis star has never played in the main draw of Wimbledon before, giving Raducanu a much greater chance of progressing to the second round.
Nao Hibino or Elise Mertens potentially awaits Raducanu in the second round with No 9 seed Maria Sakkari the likely opponent waiting in the third round.
Qinwen Zheng and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova are the only other seeded players left in Raducanu's section with either of them potentially who Raducanu would face in the fourth round.
But it's the quarter-final where Raducanu may benefit the most should she reach that stage of the tournament.
Sabalenka has made it to the semi-final of Wimbledon in her last two appearances and was among the pre-tournament favourites to go on and win the grasscourt title.
However, Sabalenka was also forced to withdraw from Wimbledon after suffering a setback during her practice session on Monday.
The No 3 seed was set to face Emina Bektas on Monday, but she showed signs of discomfort on the practice courts before announcing her withdrawal.
Aryna Sabalenka looked in some discomfort when she left practice
REUTERS
She wrote: "Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won’t be able to play The Championships this year.
"I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating.
"This tournament means so much to me and I promise I’ll be back stronger than ever next year."
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Emma Raducanu faces lucky loser Renata Zarazua
REUTERS
Sabalenka has now been replaced by lucky loser Erika Andreeva - the older sister of teen sensation Mirra Andreeva.
Daria Kasatkina is now the highest-ranked player in that section as the No 14 seed.
Russian 17-year-old Andreeva is also a possible quarter-final opponent, as well as Ukraine star Dayana Yastremska.
