Wimbledon Scare: Ostapenko Retires After First Set In Eastbourne

| by Zachary Wimer

Jelena Ostapenko was forced to retire from her quarterfinal match at the 2023 Eastbourne International against Camila Giorgi.

There are not many players on the WTA Tour, or in tennis in general, that played more tennis over the past few days than Ostapenko. The grass-court part of the season is very short, and players want to get as much preparation for Wimbledon as possible, electing to sign up for multiple events.

However, once they have some success at one of the events, winning multiple matches, they usually opt to withdraw from the next tournament, to preserve their bodies for Wimbledon. Carlos Alcaraz did it recently, and it wasn't a surprise, as Alexander Bublik and Alex de Minaur both did the same thing.

But that isn't the case for Jelena Ostapenko. The 26-year-old has been playing her best tennis recently, winning the 2023 Birmingham Classic in singles, while making the semifinals also in doubles, playing eight matches over five days.

The next event on the schedule for the Latvian was the 2023 Eastbourne International, and many expected her to withdraw from the tournament, the same way the defending champion Petra Kvitova did after winning in Berlin.

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But Ostapenko didn't do that. Moreover, she also signed up for doubles too, playing four matches over three days in Eastbourne, before taking on Camila Giorgi for a spot in the semifinals of the WTA 500 tournament.

The match was a really close battle, with the Latvian taking on an early lead, and serving for the set twice. However, she couldn't finish the proceedings off and as the tie-break approached, Ostapenko started feeling unwell, calling a medical time out.

The 2017 Roland Garros champion was able to play the tie-break then, having three set points to take the set. But her opponent was able to fight and win the tie-break 10-8, as Ostapenko elected to retire from the match.

She's yet to comment on her withdrawal from the tournament, but with her recent form, Ostapenko was certainly considered as one of the Wimbledon favourites. Hopefully for the Latvian, the retirement was only a precaution for the upcoming Grand Slam.

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