10 Brits out in 10 hours: What went wrong on 'tough day' for home hopefuls at Wimbledon as Jannik Sinner gives his verdict
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Updated 30/06/2026 at 16:11 GMT+1
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Jannik Sinner expressed his sympathy as Jack Draper followed Emma Raducanu in withdrawing from Wimbledon 2026, before a record 10 British hopefuls were knocked out in 10 hours on day one of the tournament for the first time this century.
Highlights: Djokovic and Sinner survive first-round scares as Sabalenka breezes through
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British No. 1 Raducanu announced her withdrawal on the eve of the Grand Slam due to a lower leg stress fracture.
Draper, who was set to face Taylor Fritz in the first round on Tuesday, was then ruled out of the tournament because of an ongoing arm injury.
Draper has been battling a recurring bone bruising issue in his left serving arm, and while the injury sidelined the 24-year-old from playing at SW19, he watched on helplessly as the Brits tumbled out one after the other on a chastening opening day.
Of the 10 Brits beaten, six lost in straight sets, and only Jack Pinnington Jones was left standing at the close on Monday, although he was two sets down against Brandon Nakashima when bad light ended play.
Speaking after his own scare against Miomir Kecmanovic, world No. 1 Sinner spared a thought for Draper, and reflected on the most British singles defeats on Wimbledon's opening day for over 20 years.
"It's a tough one," the Italian said. "For Jack, I talked with him before the tournament. I practiced with him before he went to Eastbourne.
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Jack Draper withdrew from Wimbledon ahead of his opening match
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"I felt like he was hitting the ball very clean with a very good speed. I always say personally when he is at his best, he's one of the best players in the world. He has shown this already so many times.
"When you struggle with injuries like this, I just got to know five minutes before I was doing press outside, it's tough because he is one of my friends. You don't wish anyone hard luck like he had throughout his whole career until now.
"I hope he will find a way. Maybe it's just prevention-wise. I don't know. I haven't talked with him yet. It's tough for the UK. Emma out, Jack out, it's tough.
"Talking about the other players, you can still make choices where you want to play, where you don't want to play before tournaments, after tournaments.
"I always try to put myself at the highest priority, trying to understand what I need at that moment. That's it. But yeah, tough for Jack."
After also overcoming a separate knee problem, Draper had shown encouraging signs at Eastbourne last week, reaching the semi-finals after a demanding run of four matches in five days.
But the recurrence of the arm issue denies British fans both a high-profile opening-round clash against Fritz and the opportunity to see one of their leading home hopes, who has at times looked capable of challenging the likes of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the very top of the game.
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Cameron Norrie lost in the opening round to American qualifier Michael Zheng
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Cameron Norrie subsequently carried Britain's best hopes of progressing deep in the tournament, but the 26th seed became another casualty on the opening day, falling in a first-round five-set battle to American qualifier Michael Zheng.
The British No 1 - the last remaining seeded home player in the draw following Raducanu’s withdrawal - was beaten 6-7 (7-9) 6-2 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-5) by the world No. 144 in a match that swung repeatedly over nearly four hours.
It marked an early setback in a disappointing start for British players at Wimbledon, with Norrie becoming the eighth home hope to exit or withdraw.
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Emma Raducanu has suffered a stress fracture in her leg
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A former semi-finalist in 2022 and quarter-finalist last year, Norrie arrived at Wimbledon with a strong grass-court pedigree, but in the midst of a five-match losing run.
Against Zheng, the 30-year-old found himself increasingly on the back foot as the American’s heavy forehand and composure under pressure dictated key passages.
The decisive moments came in a tense final-set tie-break, where Zheng edged ahead at 5-4 and did not relinquish control, sealing victory on his Wimbledon main-draw debut after Norrie netted a forehand.
Norrie offered a brief wave to the crowd on Court 2 as he departed, his campaign over almost as soon as it had begun.
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A dejected Harriet Dart against Jelena Ostapenko
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The culmination of the five-set thriller came after British wild card Harriet Dart had earlier been defeated by former Grand Slam champion Jelena Ostapenko despite coming back from a set down, eventually losing 6-3 3-6 6-4.
Following a battle that lasted two hours and 20 minutes, Dart reflected: "I felt like I was really trying to feed off it - it was an incredible atmosphere out there.
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"I love to play on big stages and to be able to play here on No.1 Court again was really incredible.
"I've played at Wimbledon many times now, and I also know that many players come and play these tournaments and don't get the opportunity to play on a big court.
"I know it's invaluable for me just to keep growing and also, at the same time, to use it as a springboard to get back where I want to be."
Elsewhere, fellow British wild card Alicia Dudeney was beaten by Alycia Parks, while Mika Stojsavljevic fell to 11th seed and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Belinda Bencic.
Felix Gill and qualifier Max Basing also exited in the opening round, losing to 23rd seed Rafael Jodar and Shintaro Mochizuki respectively.
Oliver Tarvet, who faced Alcaraz on Centre Court last year, had hoped to inspire a stronger British showing but was unable to change the mood, falling in four sets to France's Arthur Rinderknech, 7-6(4) 7-6(4) 4-6 7-5, in a tightly-contested match defined by fine margins and just two breaks of serve.
Teenager Hannah Klugman showed flashes of resistance in the second set but ultimately lost 6-1 6-4 to former champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Mimi Xu also exited, taking a set off Daria Kasatkina before fading in a 6-2 3-6 6-2 defeat and before the day was out, Francesca Jones was beaten in straight sets against Diane Parry.
"I think it's fair to say there were some bloody tough draws," said Jones.
"You've had some tough opponents there. Hannah played an ex-champion. I'm playing someone that's just come on a run of very good wins. I think a couple of the boys had a lot of seeds.
"It will create bad headlines probably slightly unfairly, I think with some of the draws that people are handed. It was always going to be difficult."
According to The Sun, it means that the 10 vanquished British players had earned just ÂŁ800,000 between them, with five sets won out of 29 played - and it could have got worse.
Over on Court 18, Pinnington Jones will resume his match with Nakashima on Tuesday after play was suspended due to bad light with the Brit trailing to the 28th seed 6-3 7-6 4-3.
Sinner fortunate to avoid injury after fall
Sinner said he was relieved to escape serious injury after slipping at the baseline during his first-round victory over Kecmanovic.
The fall came in the third set of his 4-6 6-3 6-7(6) 6-2 6-3 win, briefly leaving the 24-year-old clutching his left hip, though he was able to continue and close out the match to set up a second-round meeting with Nuno Borges.
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The blood-soaked tennis shoe of Sinner after his victory against Kecmanovic
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Sinner, who previously sustained an elbow injury during last year's Wimbledon run, said he was grateful the incident did not result in any lasting damage and stressed the importance of maintaining confidence in his movement on grass courts.
"One fall is a tough one because you can get injured,” he told reporters. "Grass courts are like this, especially at the start when the surface is still fresh and you slip a bit more. I got lucky there because things can go wrong very quickly.
"The third, fourth and fifth sets were very important to keep moving in a natural way, which I did. I’m very glad nothing happened."
The Italian, whose right shoe was left bloodied, also downplayed any suggestion that his background in skiing offered an advantage in dealing with falls, describing such moments as instinctive rather than controlled.
"There are some movements you can't really control. It’s just normal instinct," he added. "Skiing can help in certain moments, but not when you fall and have zero control."
The defending champion noted that his team had placed particular emphasis on injury prevention ahead of the tournament but acknowledged that slips remain an inherent risk on grass.
"The most important thing is to take this part away and keep moving like before, because if you get scared everything goes too slow, and on this surface you can’t do that."
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