Norrie adds to British woe at Wimbledon with shock first-round exit

Cameron Norrie was a shock first-round casualty on a dismal day one for Britain at Wimbledon on Monday.

The British number one, a former semi-finalist, was beaten in a final-set tie-break by US qualifier Michael Zheng after a four-hour marathon on Court Two.

Britain’s hopes of any singles success this year looked set to rest solely on Norrie’s shoulders after Jack Draper’s withdrawal from the Championships, coming a day after Emma Raducanu also pulled out.

But the South Africa-born left-hander arrived in no form, on a five-match losing streak and without a win on grass in 2026.

He started well against Zheng, named after US former world number two Michael Chang by his sports-mad father, with a break of serve in the opening game.

But it was the only time Norrie managed to break the world number 144 during the entire match.

Draper earlier followed Raducanu in withdrawing from Wimbledon in a nightmare 24 hours for British tennis.

Neither of Britain’s two leading lights will even take to the court at the All England Club after Draper revealed he has suffered a recurrence of his arm injury.

It is a devastating blow for the 24-year-old, who finally appeared to have put his latest fitness struggles behind him after a hugely difficult year in which he has played only a handful of tournaments.

Draper’s troubles began after Wimbledon last year, when he took nearly seven months off with bone bruising in his arm, and he then missed almost the entire clay-court season due to a knee injury.

The former world number four, who had been due to face sixth seed Taylor Fritz on Centre Court on Tuesday, said: “Devastated to share that I have had to withdraw from my first-round match due to a recurrence of my arm injury.

“There have been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this one is definitely the absolute worst as there is no greater honour for a British player than playing at Wimbledon. I will continue to persevere through this. Thank you for the support.”

Draper had finally returned to the court in Eastbourne last week for the first time since April and performed strongly, reaching the semi-finals under the guidance of new coach Andy Murray.

The former US Open semi-finalist gave no indication at a press conference on Sunday that he was a doubt for the tournament, saying he was “slowly but surely getting my body back to feeling great”.

Draper must hope that he will not be away from the court for another significant chunk of time but bone bruising is a difficult injury to shake off for good.

The news comes a day after former US Open champion Raducanu also withdrew from Wimbledon, revealing she is suffering from a stress fracture in her lower right leg.