Ten British tennis players were eliminated on the opening day of Wimbledon in London on Monday, June 29, 2026, marking the nation's worst start to the tournament this century.
The historic losses followed the high-profile injury withdrawals of top British players Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper.
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Raducanu withdrew late Sunday night due to a lower leg stress fracture, while Draper pulled out Monday afternoon after a recurrence of a serving arm injury.
On the court, British singles competitors won only five out of 29 total sets played throughout the day.
Dart's Battle on Court No. 1
British wildcard Harriet Dart, moved to Court No. 1 to replace Raducanu, suffered a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 defeat against former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.
Dart led by a break twice in the final set before Ostapenko secured the victory.
"I thought it was an incredible match," said Dart. "I think it was very challenging with the circumstances.
We were both told, I think, past 10pm last night [about] the schedule change. Not really heard that before.
I guess it's the same for both of us."
Dart suffered from a foot issue during the match but rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the third set before falling to the Latvian player.
"The reality is I was up a break twice, but it's a long way from the finish line," said Dart.
"When you play players of the stature of Jelena, you know there is one or two points in it.
