Belinda Bencic will not play any grass events leading up to Wimbledon after picking up what she describes as a ‘small injury.’
The world No.11 was set to play at the HSBC Championships in London, where she was the fourth seed. Bencic was scheduled to play Harriet Dart in the second round on Thursday but has withdrawn from the tournament due to an ankle injury. The Swiss has given no information about how she hurt her ankle but has confirmed she will also not be playing in Berlin next week, which is another WTA 500 event.
“I am very sorry to have to withdraw from Queen’s this week and Berlin next week,” Bencic wrote in an Instagram story.
“I picked up a small injury on my right ankle which needs a bit of rest in order to heal fully.
“Nothing hurts me more than not being able to play these weeks on my favourite surface, but I will be back and see you all at Wimbledon.”
The setback comes as the reigning Olympic champion heads into the next Grand Slam with 780 ranking points to defend. Last year at Wimbledon, Bencic reached the semi-finals before losing 6-2, 6-0, to Iga Swiatek, who went on to win the title.
Bencic is the latest player to suffer an injury setback heading into Wimbledon. Marta Kostyuk has also withdrawn from Queen’s with a right ankle injury. On the men’s Tour, Jack Draper, Holger Rune and Lorenzo Musetti have all delayed their return due to their ongoing recovery from various issues.
Bencic, who is a former Wimbledon junior champion, is a 10-time winner on the WTA Tour but has only won one pro title on the grass. That was 11 years ago at the Eastbourne International. She has also reached the final of four events on the surface – twice in Berlin (2021 and 2022), once in Mallorca (2019) and once in Rosmalen (2015).
She has been replaced in the Queen’s draw by lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova, who was beaten by defending champion Tatjana Maria in qualifying.
