Sabalenka Advances to US Open Semifinals After Vondrousova Withdraws with Knee Injury.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka has moved into the US Open semifinals after Marketa Vondrousova withdrew from their quarterfinal match due to a knee injury, tournament organisers confirmed on Tuesday.
Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, had impressed in New York with wins over seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and ninth seed Elena Rybakina. However, her campaign ended prematurely when she injured her knee during practice. In a statement, Vondrousova said: “I tried my best to take the court today, but during the warm-up I felt my knee again and, after consultation with the tournament doctor, decided not to risk aggravating the injury. I appreciate all the support and apologise to the fans who were looking forward to the match.”
World No. 1 Sabalenka will reach the semifinals without playing a point. She expressed her sympathy on Instagram: “So sorry for Marketa after all she’s been through. She has been playing amazing tennis, and I know how badly this must hurt for her. Take care of yourself and I hope you can recover quickly.”
This walkover makes Sabalenka only the third woman in the professional era to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal without playing, joining Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (Australian Open 1992) and Fabiola Zuluaga (Australian Open 2004).
Sabalenka will face American Jessica Pegula in the semifinals on Thursday, in a rematch of last year’s final, which Sabalenka won in straight sets. Pegula reached the last four with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Barbora Krejcikova.
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