Sabalenka and Jabeur the latest to retire from matches in Berlin as Kalinskaya reaches final
Tunisia's Ons Jabeur returns a ball against Coco Gauff of the U.S. during their singles women quarterfinals match of the WTA Tour in Berlin, Saturday June 22, 2024. Credit: AP/Andreas Gora
BERLIN — Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur retired from their respective quarterfinals in the Berlin Ladies Open on Saturday.
The second-seeded Sabalenka was trailing Anna Kalinskaya 5-1 at the grass-court event when she stopped playing because of shoulder pain.
Jabeur had just lost a first-set tiebreaker to Coco Gauff — 7-6 (9) — when she exited with an illness.
They're just the latest on the list of injured or ill players, nine days before the start of Wimbledon.
Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, retired from her quarterfinal on Friday, apparently ill. Marketa Vondrousova, last year's Wimbledon champion, retired from her match because of a leg injury.
First-round play begins at Wimbledon on July 1.
Several quarterfinals were pushed to Saturday because of rain. Following Sabalenka's exit, Kalinskaya moved on to Victoria Azarenka and beat the former No. 1 player 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-1 to earn a spot in Sunday's final.
Coco Gauff of the U.S. returns a ball against Tunisia's Ons Jabeur during their singles women quarterfinals match of the WTA Tour in Berlin, Saturday June 22, 2024. Credit: AP/Andreas Gora
No. 5 Jessica Pegula was leading doubles partner and No. 2 Gauff 7-5, 6-6 (3-1) when rain suspended their semifinal. The match will resume on Sunday.