PARIS: World number one Iga Swiatek of Poland on Friday withdrew from next week’s WTA tournament in Toronto. The reason was fatigue from the run to the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
The five-time Grand Slam champion, who won her third straight French Open title this year, beat Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedl 6-2, 6-1 to win a medal in France before saying she needed to rest.
“I regret to announce that due to general fatigue caused by the last few weeks on the court, I have to withdraw from the tournament in Toronto,” Swiatek said in a statement.
A total of six players from the world’s top 10 who crashed out of Canada’s tune-up tournament at the US Open were revealed on Friday.
Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejčíková withdrew from Toronto with a thigh injury. The Czech, ranked 10th in the world, advanced to the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles in Paris.
“The last four weeks have been incredible, but the intense program has taken its toll on my body and I have to prioritize my health so I can continue racing at my best,” said Krejčíková.
Fourth Elena Rybakina also withdrew, still sidelined by acute bronchitis, which prevented her from playing in Paris.
Other participants in the tournament included fifth Italian Jasmine Paolini, eighth Greek Maria Sakkari, ninth American Danielle Collins, 18th Czech Markéta Vondrouš and 26th French Caroline Garcia.
Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff, the world number two from the United States, and Aryna Sabalenka, the third-ranked Belarusian star who lost to Gauff in last year’s US Open final, are Toronto’s top seeds.
2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens advanced to the main draw in Toronto as a result of the withdrawals, as did former world number one Karolína Plíšková.
