The country’s best singles player, the 144th ranked Yuki Bhambri will miss Wimbledon due to tennis elbow.
Yuki hoped to be ready for the Davis Cup Asia Oceania group-I tie against South Korea that will be played on grass in Chandigarh from July 15 to 17.
“It is definitely getting better, but there is still pain and discomfort,” Yuki said, when queried about his fitness.
In March, Yuki retired from his second round singles in the Guangzhou Challenger and gave a walkover in doubles quarterfinals with Saketh Myneni, owing to the painful elbow.
Yuki, who will turn 24 on July 4, had missed about two and a half months prior to the Australian Open due to the same problem. He had planned to return by Wimbledon, but the delay in healing has forced him to pull out.
“I am getting treated and am not sure when I will be back. Davis Cup will be the first event, if I am ready by then,” he said.
A successful season last year saw Yuki climb to a career-best rank of 88, with the help of three Challenger titles. He was ranked a career-best 138 in doubles after he reached the pre-quarterfinals of the Australian Open on a wild card with Michael Venus of New Zealand in 2014. He’s 246th in doubles now.
With the 145th ranked Saketh Myneni also grappling with a shoulder injury, it may not exactly be a problem of plenty for the seven-member squad that was selected for the Davis Cup tie.
Of course, the 28-year-old Saketh has returned to the circuit and played the Surbiton Challenger last week, but it remains to be seen as to how well he shapes up for Wimbledon.
Ramkumar Ramanathan, Vishnu Vardhan, Sumit Nagal, Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes are the other members of the Davis Cup squad that was announced along with the Olympic nominations by the All India Tennis Association (AITA).
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