Jelena Ostapenko faces a race against time to be fit for Wimbledon after retiring from her second round match at the Eastbourne International on Wednesday.
The world No.20 called it quits when trailing 0-6, 6-3, 3-2, to Alexandra Eala of the Philippines due to an ankle injury. Ostapenko twisted her left ankle during the early stages of set three and received a medical time-out three games in. She later received another medical timeout before opting to retire.
Ostapenko’s injury setback comes five days before the start of Wimbledon where she will be defending a large chunk of points in both singles and doubles after reaching the quarter-finals of both events 12 months ago. She is yet to publicly comment on the severity of her injury.
“It’s never a good feeling to finish a match like that,” Eala commented on Ostapenko’s retirement.
“I hope everything’s okay with her because it was a really tough battle and I think both of us were on the brink. It could have been anyone’s match.
“I wish her a speedy recovery and I’m super happy to be able to play again in this beautiful place.”
Eala, who is currently ranked 74th in the world, is the first player from her country to play at Eastbourne. Earlier this year the 20-year-old broke new ground on the Tour by defeating three major winners at the Miami Open en route to the semi-finals. However, this week is the first time she has won back-to-back main draw matches at a WTA event categorized 250 or above since Miami.
“I’m super happy to be here (in Eastbourne). The same time last year I was in the qualifying of Wimbledon,” she said.
“I’m just counting my blessings, enjoying every minute I have on court. Hopefully tomorrow I can bring a good level again.
“I love grass. I think it’s growing on me. The grass season is not so long, and I haven’t had many (matches), to be honest. So I’m just enjoying the new experiences and travelling to new places.”
Eala will be making her main draw debut at Wimbledon next week.
