Wimbledon 2026, the third Grand Slam of the year, begins Monday at the All England Club, but 16 prominent players will be absent from SW19 for various reasons. Among the notable absentees is two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz, who withdrew due to a persistent wrist problem, and former champion Marketa Vondrousova, who received a four-year ban for refusing a doping test.
Alcaraz's Withdrawal and Title Defense
Carlos Alcaraz, who won Wimbledon in 2023 and 2024 before losing last year's final to Jannik Sinner, confirmed his withdrawal in May. The Spaniard, currently ranked world No. 2, cited an ongoing wrist injury that prevented him from competing on grass. His place in the draw was taken by British wildcard Jan Choinski, ranked No. 100.
Alcaraz's absence leaves Sinner, the defending champion, as the clear favourite for the men's title.
Vondrousova's Four-Year Ban
Marketa Vondrousova, who won Wimbledon in 2023, has not played since the Adelaide International in January. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) confirmed her ban in April after she prevented a doping control officer from entering her residence for an out-of-competition test. The Czech player's case went to a hearing, where she was found to have breached regulations, resulting in a suspension until June 2030.
Vondrousova expressed dismay, explaining: "The recent doping control incident happened because I reached a breaking point after months of physical and mental stress. For a long time, I've been dealing with injury, constant pressure, and ongoing sleep issues that left me feeling exhausted and fragile. It slowly wore me down more than I probably realised at the time. And on top of that, years of hateful messages and threats have affected how safe I feel in my own space. When someone rang my door late at night without properly identifying themselves or following protocol - I reacted as a person who felt scared. In that moment, it was about feeling safe, not about avoiding anything. Experts confirmed I suffered an Acute Stress Reaction (F43.0) and Generalised Anxiety Disorder (F41.1). In that moment, fear clouded my judgement and I just could not process the situation rationally. After what happened to Petra [Kvitova], we don't take strangers at our door lightly."
ITIA chief executive Karen Moorhouse said: "We understand that the testing process is uncomfortable, and acknowledge that it is an additional burden for players whose jobs already come with a high level of pressure and scrutiny, but it is essential to protect fair competition. Safety and welfare of players and our testers is really important to us. Our testers are well-trained, professional, and the gender of our testing witness always matches the player. They carry ID at all times, and players are able to verify their identity in other ways if they are ever unsure."
Full List of Absentees and Replacements
In the men's draw, eight players withdrew: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2, replaced by Jan Choinski), Lorenzo Musetti (No. 15, replaced by Matteo Berrettini), Valentin Vacherot (No. 20, replaced by Sho Shimabukuro), Tomas Machac (No. 42, replaced by Jesper de Jong), Sebastian Korda (No. 46, replaced by Alexandre Muller), Holger Rune (No. 63, replaced by Titouan Droguet), Arthur Cazaux (No. 81, replaced by Alex Molcan), Eliot Spizzirri (No. 95, replaced by Martin Damm Jr.), and Reilly Opelka (No. 102, replaced by Dalibor Svrcina).
In the women's draw, seven players are missing: Victoria Mboko (No. 9, replaced by Darja Vidmanova), Hailey Baptiste (No. 30, replaced by Hanne Vandewinkel), Cristina Bucsa (No. 35, replaced by Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva), Varvara Gracheva (No. 71, replaced by Sinja Kraus), Sonay Kartal (No. 72, replaced by Paula Badosa), Veronika Kudermetova (No. 86, replaced by Francesca Jones), and Marketa Vondrousova (No. 120, replaced by Nadia Podoroska).
