British tennis player Katie Boulter had to retire from her match against Anhelina Kalinina at the Birmingham Classic due to illness. Boulter, who had recently won the Nottingham Open, decided that she was not fit to continue after losing the first set to Kalinina 6-3. She explained that she had been feeling unwell during the Nottingham Open but pushed through to try and secure a seeding at Wimbledon.
Despite her disappointment, Boulter remains positive about her performance and upcoming tournaments. She mentioned that she was looking forward to playing at Eastbourne next week and that she was not too concerned about potentially losing her seeding position for Wimbledon.
In other matches at the Birmingham Classic, former world number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered a defeat in her first grass court match in five years against Elise Mertens. Wozniacki, who made a comeback to tennis last year after a brief retirement, expressed her desire to compete at Wimbledon again this year by requesting a wildcard.
British players Harriet Dart and Heather Watson also had mixed results at the tournament. While Dart advanced to the second round with a win over Moyuka Uchijima, Watson faced a tough loss to Marie Bouzkova in a match that lasted almost three hours. Despite the defeat, Watson remained positive about her performance and described the match as a great way to start the grass-court season.
Meanwhile, in Berlin, Naomi Osaka lost to Zheng Qinwen in a closely contested match. Zheng, who hit a remarkable 23 aces during the match, managed to overcome Osaka in three sets. On the other hand, Victoria Azarenka secured a victory against Maria Sakkari, and Angelique Kerber suffered a defeat against Czech teenager Linda Noskova.
Overall, the Birmingham Classic and other tennis tournaments around the world continue to showcase the talent and resilience of the players as they prepare for the upcoming Grand Slam events and the Olympic Games in Paris. Fans can expect more exciting matches and surprises as the tennis season progresses.