Carla Suarez Navarro has announced on her social media accounts that she will be ending her 2019 season earlier than expected due to a recurring back injury which has bothered her for the past couple of months.
Suarez Navarro, a former top-10 player whose biggest career title is the Qatar Total Open back in 2016, owned an 18-17 win-loss record this year, which can be considered disappointing for her standards. She was winless in all eight matches contested against top-20 players this year, with her best win (by ranking) coming against a 32nd-ranked Dayana Yastremska at Roland Garros.
The Spaniard’s best results this year were quarterfinal appearances in Dubai and San Jose, but has also managed to make the fourth round of Wimbledon for just the third time in her career, losing to Serena Williams in a one-sided match.
The back injury has caused some problems for Suarez Navarro in the past month, forcing her to concede a retirement in two of her last three matches. It first surfaced at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where she had to throw in the white towel against Anett Kontaveit in the second round, just days after she stunned Venus Williams.
She was then forced to withdraw from the Bronx Open, where she would have been the second seed, due to the same issue. Having rested herself for the US Open, Suarez Navarro’s campaign had to end earlier than expected as she retired down 2-6 against qualifier Timea Babos. That match also caused controversy as the officials determined that she was fined $40 000 USD for a “lack of effort”, although it was a rather competitive first set despite what the scoreline suggested.
Suarez Navarro ends the year with 1049 points, which will get her a ranking hovering around the 50 range. The Spaniard will hope for a better 2020, with the Olympics upcoming as well.