As the race to Wimbledon is already underway on grass, the last two ladies’ champions are doubtful to feature at the year’s third Major after retiring from action in Berlin – first defending titlist Marketa Vondrousova after a worrying fall, then Elena Rybakina the following day with an unspecified illness.
Rybakina ill, Vondrousova injured
- Not good: Elena Rybakina ill again, defending titlist Marketa Vondrousova (leg) and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka (shoulder) all doubts for an increasingly-open Wimbledon ladies’ singles draw
- The importance of continuity! One of the aforementioned trio has reached the semifinals or better in each of the last three grass-court Majors
WIMBLEDON is fast approaching, but the last two ladies’ singles titleholders are major doubts for SW19 with respective ailments suffered in Berlin this week.
2022 champion Elena Rybakina retired from her quarterfinal matchup against Victoria Azarenka yesterday, trailing 3-1 in the first set, with an unspecified illness.
The world no. 4 stopped playing after double-faulting to make it 15-15 in the match’s fifth game and didn’t wait for a medical evaluation, jogging to the locker room.
It’s not the first time the hard-hitting Kazakh has struggled with illness so far this season, having withdrawn from Indian Wells citing a gastrointestinal illness while doing the same before a proposed WTA 1000 title defence in Rome last month.
Azarenka lost in a three-set battle during her subsequent semi-final against Anna Kalinskaya earlier today, also benefiting from a sudden retirement two days prior.
Vondrousova originally led 5-3 in her second-round matchup against the Russian when she slipped behind the baseline, clutching her right leg.
The Czech international, 24, got up holding her right hip area and returned after a medical timeout with the upper part of said leg heavily strapped. That method of treatment usually doesn’t bode well, restricting movement and reducing comfort, and so it proved during a maiden H2H meeting against the world no. 17.
The reigning Wimbledon champion played two further games, lost both, and promptly retired to preserve her health as the countdown to the year’s third Major – where she has ranking points aplenty to defend – intensifies.
Picture source: Getty Images
Mo and Sports 