Two-time Grand Slam champion Petra Kvitova announced her withdrawal from Roland Garros on Monday, revealing she has sustained a grade two tear in her left forearm.
“Yesterday, I hit a normal forehand and suddenly I felt a sharp pain in the forearm. Tears went to my eyes, and I said, Okay, I finish this practice,” Kvitova told reporters in a press conference Monday. “So then I went [for an] ultrasound. They didn’t see anything. They sent me [for a] MRI and they found it on there.”
This year’s Australian Open finalist received the news Sunday evening and shared her update on Twitter. Kvitova, one of the favorites to win her first French Open after triumphing in Stuttgart earlier in the European clay-court season, was one of five women who began the tournament in the race for the No. 1 ranking. Current world No. 1 Naomi Osaka, No. 2 Karolina Pliskova and No. 4 Kiki Bertens are the three players left in contention following Angelique Kerber’s loss on Sunday.
Sorry to have to inform you of some bad news this morning pic.twitter.com/snxhJkPRuh
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) 27 май 2019 г.
Kvitova added in her press conference that doctors advised the Czech to stop tennis activities for the next two to three weeks, but the 29-year-old is optimistic about returning in time for the grass swing. Kvitova is currently ranked No. 6 and is 28-8 on the season, winning two titles. Lucky loser Kaja Juvan of Slovenia replaced Kvitova in the draw and will play Sorana Cirstea Monday on Court Suzanne Lenglen.