Bellucci Pulls Out: Withdraws From Wimbledon, Llamas Ruiz Steps In

Mattia Bellucci will not play Wimbledon. The Italian, firmly inside the world's top 80, injured his knee during a practice session and pulled out on the eve of the tournament, freeing up his spot in the main draw. Taking his place is Spanish lucky loser Pablo Llamas Ruiz, who inherits the slot and will face American Zachary Svajda in the first round.

For the Lombardy native it is a painful sacrifice: he arrived on the London grass after a season of steady growth, and Wimbledon was one of the most important showcases on his calendar. The exact nature of the problem has not been disclosed, beyond the fact that it is a knee issue picked up on court, away from the cameras.

Bellucci's withdrawal joins an already long list of pull-outs just hours before the start. Among the men, the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune have also withdrawn, with the draw continuing to reshuffle through a string of lucky losers. In the women's event, the most talked-about withdrawal remains that of Emma Raducanu, sidelined by a stress fracture.

For Llamas Ruiz, on the other hand, it is the chance at a Slam debut that until a few hours earlier had seemed to slip away in qualifying. It often happens at Wimbledon that a door closed by an injury opens another for someone who had just missed the cut.