Marketa Vondrousova faces a race against time to be fit for the Australian Open which will get underway in less than a week.
The reigning Wimbledon champion was scheduled to play in the Adelaide International but withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday due to a hip injury. She has yet to publically comment on the nature of the problem or how significant it is.
Vondrousova started her season last week at the United Cup where she played two singles matches and one in the mixed doubles. She beat Olga Danilović during her country’s tie with Serbia but lost to China’s Zheng Qinwen in the other group tie. The Czech Republic failed to reach the knockout stages.
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam that Vondrousova has yet to reach at least the quarter-final stage. Her best run at the tournament was in 2021 when she made it to the fourth round. Overall, she has made six appearances at Melbourne Park so far in her career and has won nine out of 15 matches played.
There has already been a series of notable withdrawals from the first major event of the 2024 season with Petra Kvitova, Karolina Muchova and Madison Keys all pulling out. Kvitova is pregnant with her first child, Muchova is nursing a wrist injury and Keys has a shoulder problem.
In the men’s tournament, Rafael Nadal is the most high-profile withdrawal to date due to a minor muscle injury.
The Australian Open will begin on Sunday.
