Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova faced a setback during her match at the Berlin Open, just days before she was set to defend her title. The Czech player slipped and fell while leading 5-3 in the first set against Anna Kalinskaya. She appeared to injure her right hip and had to call for a medical time-out. Unfortunately, Vondrousova was forced to retire from the match at 5-5.
The Wimbledon tournament is scheduled to take place from 1-14 July, and Vondrousova was expected to start her title defence on the second day. The 24-year-old made history as the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title last year by defeating Ons Jabeur in the final.
Following Vondrousova’s injury, Kalinskaya advanced to the quarter-finals, where she will face either Aryna Sabalenka or Daria Kasatkina. In other matches, third seed Elena Rybakina secured her spot in the quarter-finals with a 6-4 7-5 victory over Veronika Kudermetova. The Kazakhstan player, who won the 2022 Wimbledon title, is now set to play against former world number one Victoria Azarenka.
Notably, eight of the world’s top 10 players are participating in the Berlin Open, with only Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini missing from the lineup. Additionally, former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova is gearing up for her return to the court at the Eastbourne International next week. Muchova had been sidelined for 10 months due to a wrist injury sustained during the US Open semi-finals in September. After undergoing surgery in February, the 27-year-old Czech player is now 34th in the world rankings and is focused on building her match fitness ahead of Wimbledon and the Olympic Games.
Muchova expressed her eagerness to compete again, stating, “At the end of this week, I’ll fly to Eastbourne with the team where we’ll finally try to play some matches in preparation ahead of Wimbledon. After Wimbledon, I’ll return to the clay, maybe play a tournament, or head straight to the Olympics.” Tennis at the Olympics is set to commence on the clay courts of Roland Garros on 27 July, and Muchova is anticipated to participate in both singles and women’s doubles alongside Vondrousova at her debut Olympic appearance.