TENNIS – OLYMPIC silver medallist Marketa Vondrousova has withdrawn from the Paris Summer Games due to a hand injury, the Czech 25-year-old said yesterday, with Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz also withdrawing.
Vondrousova reached the women’s final in Tokyo three years ago as an unseeded player, losing to Swiss ninth seed Belinda Bencic. The Swiss, who gave birth to a daughter in April, will not be in Paris to defend her title.
“I am very sorry, but due to health reason I will not be participating in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris,” Vondrousova posted on Instagram. “I hoped until the last moment that I could go at least in doubles, but problems with my hand won’t allow me on the court.”
Katerina Siniakova, who won gold at the last Olympics in doubles and is a nine-times Grand Slam champion in women’s doubles, will replace Vondrousova in the singles and Linda Noskova will play doubles with Karolina Muchova.
Hurkacz was forced to retire from his Wimbledon second round match earlier in July when he dived for a volley but landed badly and injured his knee, and has not recovered in time to compete in Paris.
Other notable absences from the tennis at the Games include world number three Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur, Emma Raducanu, Ben Shelton and Tokyo men’s bronze medal winner Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.
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