Elina Svitolina’s bid to win a third consecutive title on the WTA Tour has ended after she withdrew from the Malaysia Open due to a leg injury.
The world No.10, who is the defending champion at the tournament, kicked-off her campaign on Tuesday with a straight sets triumph over South Korea’s Su Jeong Jang to record her 250th win on the WTA tour.
According to WTA Insider, the exact problem hindering the Ukrainian is a injury to her left lower leg, but it is unclear how severe the issue is. Last week the 22-year-old won her biggest title to date after defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships, a Premier-level tournament. Earlier in the year Svitolina also won the Taiwan Open, defeating Peng Shuai in the final.
Defending champ @ElinaSvitolina has withdrawn from @alyawtamo with a lower left leg injury. pic.twitter.com/xucIQdjV9R
— wta (@WTA) March 1, 2017
Following Svitolina’s withdrawal, Japan’s Nao Hibino progresses to her first WTA quarter-finals since September’s Tashkent Open. The world No.106 will face either Lesley Kerkhove or Sabina Sharipova in the last eight, both of whom are ranked lower than her.
Only three seeded player remain in the Kuala Lumpur tournament. On Tuesday title contenders Carla Suarez Navarro and Caroline Garcia suffered shock losses. China’s Shuai is the highest ranked player left in the draw as the fourth seed.
Svitolina is set to travel to America for the start of next week’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The prestigious tournament features 18 out of the 20 best players in the world (Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka are the two exceptions).
