The top-seeded Eugenie Bouchard of Canada pulled out of the Generali Ladies with a left leg injury on Thursday.
Bouchard had her thigh taped during Wednesday’s win over Patricia Mayr-Achleitner and said the injury worsened overnight.
“I woke up this morning and it was much, much worse,” she said. “It’s hard for me to keep playing and keep making it worse.”
The sixth-ranked Bouchard is enjoying a breakthrough season, in which she won her maiden WTA title in Nuremberg in May, reached the final at Wimbledon and the semi-finals at the Australian and French Opens.
Bouchard said she did not want to put her participation in the WTA Finals in Singapore at risk.
“The plan is to take a lot of days off right now and really rest,” she said. “The goal is to try play Singapore in a week and a half. I won’t have ideal training probably, but I’ll give it my best.”
Bouchard is the second key player to withdraw from Linz, one day after second-seeded and two-time former champion Ana Ivanovic pulled out with a left hip injury.
Bouchard’s departure advanced Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria from the second round.
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, the only seeded player left, reached her fifth quarter-final in three months by defeating Mona Barthel of Germany 6-4, 6-2.
The 30th-ranked Pliskova missed three match points at 5-1, but converted her next chance on serve to set up a quarter-final against Madison Brengle of the US, who advanced without playing after Ivanovic’s withdrawal.
Barthel’s defeat left Anna-Lena Friedsam as the sole German player out of five starters to reach the quarter-finals.
Friedsam made the last eight of a WTA event for the first time by routing Jana Cepelova of Slovakia 6-0, 6-4.
Friedsam did not face a break point until serving for the match at 5-3. She lost the game before adding another break in the next to close out the win.
Her next opponent is scheduled to be Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland.
Karin Knapp of Italy moved on when her opponent, Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, retired after the opening set with a left-leg injury. After losing the set 6-3, Rybarikova asked for medical treatment, but decided to quit the match after briefly speaking to the trainer.
EVERY DAY A VICTORY: Players on the women’s team faced pressure from society just getting out onto the field as they prepare for their first Women’s Asian Cup game today Bangladesh’s national soccer team face daunting odds at their first-ever Women’s Asian Cup, but have already scored a major victory by qualifying. In the South Asian nation of 170 million, social stigma, family expectations, poverty and religious hardliners have long relegated women and girls to sports sidelines. The first women’s soccer league matches took place in 2011 and the squad, known to fans as the Red and Green, have kept pressing forward despite deeply embedded prejudices. “Many more girls would have joined us if the community had been even slightly supportive,” captain Afeida Khandaker told AFP ahead of her side’s March 3
Soccer officials yesterday offered “full support and assistance” to the Iranian team in Australia for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup after the US and Israel launched massive attacks on their homeland. Iran’s 26-strong squad arrived on the Gold Coast days before the strikes on Saturday killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as Washington and Tel Aviv seek to topple the Islamic republic. They are due to open their tournament today against South Korea. The AFC in a statement said it “continues to closely monitor the recent developments in the Middle East during this challenging period.” “The AFC’s foremost priority remains the welfare, safety and
ROAD RASH: Marc Marquez retired after a crash, marking the first time after 88 consecutive races stretching back to 2021 that a Ducati bike failed to make the podium Marco Bezzecchi yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening grand prix in Thailand from pole position as defending world champion Marc Marquez retired late with a buckled wheel. Aprilia’s Bezzecchi led from start to finish to top the podium in Buriram, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta second and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez third. Ducati’s Marquez is chasing a record-equaling eighth world title this season, but he exited the race in dramatic fashion while in fourth place with five laps to go. The Spaniard, who started from second on the grid, took a corner wide, with the jolt to his bike dislodging the rear tire, badly damaging his
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
RSS