(Paris) Nine days before the start of Wimbledon (July 1-14), Belarusian world No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka and Tunisian No. 10 Ons Jabeur both had to retire in the quarter-finals of the Berlin tournament on Saturday, against Anna Kalinskaya and Coco Gauff.
Hit in a shoulder, according to the WTA website, Sabalenka stopped while she was trailing 5-1 in the first set against her Russian opponent, who will meet another Belarusian, Victoria Azarenka, in the semi-final.
As for Ons Jabeur, she also gave up after Coco Gauff won the first set in the tiebreaker. She called doctors, before finally leaving the court, “sick” according to the WTA.
In Berlin, in addition to Sabalenka and Jabeur, two other top seeds were forced to withdraw this week: opposed to Azarenka in the quarterfinals, Elena Rybakina (seeded N.3) was ill. In the previous round, it was the Czech Marketa Vondrousova (N.5) who gave up against Kalinskaya.