Retirements and injuries continue to pile up on the WTA. Defending Hobart International finalist Madison Brengle was forced to retire from her match against qualifier Kiki Bertens with a respiratory illness.
Newly crowned Hopman Cup champion Daria Gavrilova had to withdraw from the Apia International Sydney, citing a left abdomen injury. Lucky loser Magdalena Rybarikova took her place in the draw. Rybarikova lost in three sets to qualifier Monica Puig in the first round. Madison Keys and Irina-Camelia Begu also withdrew from Sydney before the tournament started.
The Australian Summer Blues
Something seems to be in the water in over in Asia/Australia with the amount of women retiring or withdrawing from matches. A majority of the top ten players are hurt or sick which leaves their Australian Open’s in doubt.
Here are a list of the top ten players citing injuries:
Serena Williams: Knee inflammation; withdrew from Hopman Cup
Simona Halep: Left leg; withdrew from Brisbane Internaional
Garibñe Muguruza: Left foot; withdrew from Brisbane Internaional
Maria Sharapova: Left forearm; withdrew from Brisbane Internaional
Agnieszka Radwanska: Left leg; with from Sydney
Petra Kvitova: Gastrointestinal illness; retired from Shenzhen and withdrew from Sydney
Lucie Safarova: Bacterial infection; has already withdrawn from the Australian Open
A number of players even outside the top ten have already withdrawn from the Australian Open other than Safarova as well. Casey Dellacqua is forced to miss this Australian summer due to failure to recover from concussion symptoms. Galina Voskoboeva is also out. Voskoboeva was replaced by Kiki Bertens in the main draw, and Safarova was replaced by the newly-married Jarmila Wolfe.
Both Dellacqua and Safarova were set to play in the same two events in Australia before the Australian Open. Dellacqua was set to play with Lleyton Hewitt at the Hopman Cup while Safarova was going to play with Jiri Vesely. They were subsequently replaced by Wolfe and Karolina Pliskova respectively. Both players were also planning to play in the Apia International Sydney as well.