Dubai Duty Free Tennis: Vondrousova withdraws from semifinal due to injury

Dubai - The Czech Republic qualifier suffered a right adductor injury

It was heartbreaking for qualifier Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova as she had to withdraw from her WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semifinal against Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Friday, due to an injury.

Vondrousova, who had come through the first round after Australian Open runner-up American Danielle Collins had retired due to dizziness and had then gone on to beat Russia’s Varvara Gracheva and Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in the second round and the quarterfinal respectively, had to pull out due to a right adductor injury.

Vondrousova revealed that the injury had surfaced a couple of days ago.

“The injury started a few days ago and I’ve played so many matches here which has aggravated the injury,” Vondrousova said in a statement on Friday.

“I’m really sad to leave the tournament this way but I’ve still enjoyed a great week and am proud of how I’ve played. I will travel to Doha and see how the injury is. I’ve played six amazing matches this week having come through qualifying and proud of my performances so, it’s unfortunate this has happened. Health is the priority for me,” added the 22-year-old.

It means that Kudermetova goes into the final and awaits the winner of the semifinal match between two-time Dubai champion Simona Halep of Romania and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko.