Marketa Vondrousova dream run ends abruptly as injury hands Sabalenka semifinal spot

According to reports from the US Open, Marteka Vondrousova has withdrawn from the tournament before her quarterfinal match against Aryna Sabalenka, giving the Belarusian a walkover into the semifinals. The match was scheduled for the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, but the Czech player did not appear for her warm-up.

The 2023 Wimbledon champion was having a flawless campaign, defeating the 7th seed Jasmine Paolini and the 9th seed Elena Rybakina on her way to the quarterfinals. Vondrousova has faced constant injuries this season, which have prevented her from playing consistently, but she was showing her best tennis these past two weeks at Flushing Meadows.

However, according to tennis journalist Nick McCarvel, Vondrousova had a knee issue that led her to the decision to withdraw from the tournament and not take the court against Sabalenka.

Vondrousova and Sabalenka had faced each other less than a month ago in the second round of the Cincinnati Open, where Sabalenka won 7-5, 6-1. With that victory, Sabalenka took the lead in their head-to-head record 5-4, but unfortunately, there won't be a rematch between them this time.

With this, the current world No. 1 advances to the semifinals and will face Jessica Pegula, who just eliminated Barbora Krejcikova in the morning session. It will be a rematch of the 2024 US Open final, where Pegula will look for revenge while Sabalenka is just two wins away from defending her US Open title. In addition, the three-time major champion has already confirmed that she will remain at the top of the rankings after the tournament, regardless of the results to come.