Australian Open star withdraws in emotional – Sports News
The Australian Open has been dealt its first vital blow with the withdrawal of 2024 runner-up and Olympic gold medalist, Qinwen Zheng.
After present process elbow surgical procedure in July and a transient return to the court docket in September, Zheng was compelled to retire mid-match and subsequently missed a number of tournaments.
In an emotional social media post, Zheng expressed her affection for the Australian Open and acknowledged her incapability to fulfill the “extreme competitive condition” mandatory for Grand Slam competitors. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has sparked health issues forward of the event.
The former world No. 4 shared: “Hi everyone, after careful evaluation by my team and following medical advice, unfortunately, I will be withdrawing from the 2026 Australian Open.
“Making this choice has been extremely tough for me. Melbourne is my ‘fortunate place’ the place I gained my first Grand Slam essential draw match and the place I had my best expertise. I’ve a particular connection to this place, and I used to be very keen to begin my new season on the Melbourne Park.
“Although my recovery is progressing well and my offseason has gone smoothly, to play a Grand Slam requires players to maintain an extreme competitive condition. Currently, I have not yet reached my best condition that I have set for myself.
“I can not thank everybody enough for his or her continued help and am very a lot wanting ahead to being 100 per cent back on the court docket and having a robust 2026 season return.”
The Australian Open, often known as the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific, usually sees Chinese tennis sensation Zheng as a crowd favourite in Melbourne. The 23-year-old was additionally slated to go up in opposition to Elena Rybakina in a pre-tournament exhibition match at Rod Laver Arena subsequent Tuesday.
Zheng revealed that she can be taking a break from the tour for an unspecified period following elbow surgical procedure, which got here after her shocking first-round departure at Wimbledon.
She made her comeback on the Beijing Open in China in direction of the top of September, the place she triumphed over Emiliana Arango. However, she retired during the third set of her match in opposition to Linda Noskova and hasn’t performed since.
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