Reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova pulled out from the 2024 Adelaide International due to an injury.
Markea Vondrousova has been a really good tennis player for much of her career but, unfortunately, has dealt with far too many injuries. She made her first Grand Slam final way back in 2019, losing to Ashleigh Barty at the Roland Garros, 1-6, 3-6.
That run demonstrated that she's a very capable tennis player, jumping from number 36th to number 16th on the ranking following the success. She would finish in the Top 20 that year and hover around there until 2022 when she dropped out of the Top 100 due to injuries.
She returned and played a great 2023, making a surprise run at Wimbledon, winning the trophy and jumping all the way into the Top 10. She played at the WTA Finals and finished in the Top 10, but 2024 hasn't brought anything good so far.
She pulled out of her Adelaide International match just minutes before she was supposed to take the courts which surprised many. A hip injury is the culprit this time around, and that's very bad news as the recent example of Rafael Nadal proves.
She was replaced in the main draw by Taylor Townsend, who was notified about playing the match last minute. Townsend would show up, though, and win the match, talking after the match about how it all transpired.
Yeah it was crazy because I was actually in the training room getting a massage and I was talking to Marketa. I showered as I already played doubles today. And she told well, you're going to play and I got my dress and my shoes.
We'll see what this means for Vondorusova and whether she makes a return to the courts soon or whether this is a long absence for her.