NEW YORK – Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka returns to the U.S. Open semifinals without hitting a ball Tuesday night as the woman she was supposed to face in the quarterfinals, 2023 Wimbledon champion Maketa Vondrousova, exits the game with an injured knee.
According to the American Tennis Association, Vondrousova was the first woman to let her opponent take a walk – a term for a tennis player to exit the game before the game began – Chris Evert did not compete in the semi-finals since 1988 when Steffi Graf started playing.
“I tried my best to play today, but during the warm-up I felt my knees again and after consultation with the tournament doctor, I decided not to risk aggravate the injury,” Vondrousova, a 26-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic, said in a statement released by the USTA. “I thank all the support of this game and apologize to the fans who are looking forward to the game.”
She advanced to the quarterfinals with a three-set victory over 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Sunday night.
In one of two night games canceled by Ashe on Tuesday, the USTA did not replace Sabalenka vs. Vondrousova in the show, but instead replaced the men’s quarterfinals between 24-time main champion Novak Djokovic and 2024 runner-up Taylor Fritz in another match, initially starting at 8 p.m. and initially at the start of Sabalenka-vonderever’s launch.
Sabalenka will now meet No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the semifinals on Thursday. This was the championship match in Flushing Meadows last year, with Sabalenka winning consecutive games.
In the WTA rankings, Vondrousova reached sixth place in the WTA rankings, but a series of injuries over the years kept her away from the tour at one time. These include surgery on her wrist in 2022 and surgery on her shoulder last year.
She entered the U.S. Open with no seeds.
“She’s been through all the experiences after all and I’m so sorry for Marketa,” Sabalenka wrote on social media. “She’s been playing amazing tennis and I know how painful it is for her.”
Pegula entered her second Grand Slam semifinal by knocking out two-time champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3 earlier on Tuesday.
Pegula remained 0-6 in the quarterfinals until it upset Iga Swiatek in that round at Flushing Meadows a year ago.
Now, the 31-year-old American is the first woman to finish the last four in the U.S. Open for several consecutive years, but has done so since 23-time professional champion Serena Williams every year from 2011 to 2014.
“I’ve been able to play these competitions and really take care of the business,” Pegula said.
The last two women’s quarterfinals are scheduled for Wednesday: Swiatek vs. 8 Amanda Anisimova – This is a rematch of last month’s Wimbledon final, with Swiatek winning 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 and 11 Karolina Muchova vs. Noomi Naomi Osaka.
It will be Osaka’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2021 Australian Open, where she won her fourth major trophy.
