Serena Williams’ campaign at this year’s BNP Paribas Open has come to an abrupt halt after she was forced to retire from her third round match on Sunday.
The former world No.1 was taking on Garbine Muguruza but was forced to call it quits whilst trailing 3-6, 0-1. Williams was suffering from a virus and sought medical treatment during the match by having her blood pressure taken. Despite getting off to a solid start by racing to a 3-0 lead initially, the American looked fatigued on the court and at one stage about to faint.
“Before the match, I did not feel great, and then it just got worse with every second; extreme dizziness and extreme fatigue,” Williams said in a statement released by the tournament. “By the score, it might have looked like I started well, but I was not feeling at all well physically. I will focus on getting better and start preparing for Miami.”
In recent times a Williams retirement has been a rare occurrence. The last time she did so was against Jarmila Wolfe at the 2016 Hopman Cup due to a knee injury. On the WTA Tour, her last retirement occurred all the way back in 2014 at the Wuhan Open.
Muguruza, who is the only player to have defeated both of the Williams sisters in a grand slam final, admitted that she she felt ‘weird’ about their outcome of their match. The Spaniard has now levelled their head-to-head to 3-3.
“I don’t know. It’s really a weird feeling, because I don’t feel like I won the match point and (get the) well done, you know, good match (handshake). It was just like, Man, we’ll play next time. Yeah, I think I played well one set. I’m going to take the positive side of that.” She said.
As Williams bids to recover in time for the Miami Open, Muguruza will take on Kiki Bertens in the fourth round. Bertens edged out Johanna Konta 7-6(10), 6-4, during a closely fought match between the two.
Williams’ top 10 spot now in danger
As a result of her withdrawal, Williams is now at risk of exiting the top 10. One of her biggest threats comes in the shape of Ashleigh Barty. The Australian eased to a 6-3, 6-2, win over Jennifer Brady to set up a clash with Elina Svitolina. Barty is currently 11th in the live rankings. Should she progress to the quarter-finals, she will make her top 10 debut and kick Williams out of the group.
“I’ve played against Barty a couple of times. I know her game a little bit so I have to be ready, and I’ll try to recover for a tough one. Brady is playing really good tennis now, beating some top players. She can produce a very good match, so I’ll have to be ready for that as well.” wtatennis.com quoted Svitolina as saying about her upcoming match.
Should Barty crack the top 10, she would become the first Australian to do so for six years. Her current ranking best is 12th in the world.
Elsewhere at the tournament, Canadian star Bianca Andreescu continues her rise in the women’s game. The 18-year-old dropped only three games during her comprehensive 6-1, 6-2, win over Stephanie Voegele in less than an hour. Since the start of 2019, Andreescu has risen almost 50 places to a current ranking high of 60th.
“If someone would have told me I would have gone to the third fourth of this tournament at the beginning of the year, I would have said, You’re crazy.” The delighted Canadian told reporters afterwards.
“It’s just an incredible experience. This is one of the best tournaments in the world, so I’m just really, really happy.”
Andreescu will play China’s Wang Qiang in the last 16 on Tuesday.
