Marketa Vondrousova was unable to even take to the court for her US Open quarterfinal match against Aryna Sabalenka.
Vondrousova, who is a former Wimbledon champion, had beaten the likes of Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal this year.
There was a lot of excitement ahead of her quarterfinal with Aryna Sabalenka, who sent a message after Vondrousova withdrew after sustaining a wrist injury in her practice session.
Vondrousova has released a social media statement of her own since then, and now former world number four Tim Henman has given an insight into what actually happened.
Tim Henman reveals what he noticed about Marketa Vondrousova after she sustained injury
Vondrousova suffered a significant ranking drop earlier this year, after missing many tournaments after undergoing surgery on her shoulder.
The 26-year-old has struggled with many physical problems over the years, including a problem with her wrist that she had an operation on in 2019.
It appears that this wrist issue has now returned, with Vondrousova being forced to withdraw from her US Open quarterfinal after injuring it when practicing for the match.
When reacting to the news that Vondrousova had pulled out, the aforementioned Henman revealed how much pain she appeared to be in when reporting for Sky Sports.
“She was out on the practice court and just started to hit some balls on the baseline and suddenly hit one forehand and doubled over in pain, more to the side of the court,” said Henman.
“Looked like she was very distressed and obviously distraught, and then we’ve just heard that she’s obviously had to pull out, which is hugely disappointing for her, she was playing some great tennis.”
Marion Bartoli ‘absolutely gutted’ after Marketa Vondrousova withdrawal
Another former Wimbledon champion in Marion Bartoli then weighed in on the discussion, explaining how disappointed she was for Vondrousova.
Bartoli also spoke about how much she was looking forward to the match between Vondrousova and Sabalenka, which she suggested could have gone either way.
“Absolutely gutted about it to be honest with you, Gigi [Salmon],” said Bartoli. “I was so looking forward to that matchup, I thought that match was very interesting, because I thought Vondrousova has that ability to absorb the pace and she has been doing that over and over against Rybakina.
“And we all know that sometimes Sabalenka can struggle on her backhand, and sometimes the leftiness of Vondrousova to be able to find that backhand over and over again. I thought it would have been extremely interesting to see how Aryna would have dealt with that, but I’m so sad for Marketa Vondrousova.
“As Tim mentioned, she has already been struggling with so many injuries, got herself back fully into great shape, playing amazing tennis and I feel for her, I’ve been on those courts, I know how important it is to be in the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam.
“You don’t get those opportunities all the time and when you start to play well, you really want to give it a full go on the court and whether you win or you lose, but on your own terms it is just because someone is better than you. Not the case today, so absolutely gutted about it.”
Following on from Bartoli, tennis commentator Jonathan Overend added his concern that the injury did not appear to be sustained from a particularly challenging shot.
“It didn’t look a particularly hard forehand either, just a gentle warm-up and this is what is so heartbreaking,” added Overend. “Just a gentle warm-up out on the practice courts ahead of taking to Arthur Ashe.
“She presumably might have hit again on Ashe after Aryna had her hit around about an hour ago, and it is just so innocuous the injury. We await to hear further news from her, but so many injury troubles particularly with that shoulder.”
It is unclear as to just how severe this injury is for Vondrousova, as Sabalenka now moves straight through to the semifinal where she will play Jessica Pegula in a rematch of last year’s US Open final.
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