Back injury takes Bia Haddad out of Wimbledon tournament
A back muscle contraction prevented Bia Haddad from continuing her great performance at the Wimbledon Tournament. On Monday (Jul. 10) in London (England), the 27-year-old Brazilian abandoned the match against Kazakh Elena Rybakina, valid for the round of 16, still in the first set, when she was losing by 4 to 1, after only 27 minutes of dispute. As a result, she also had to withdraw from the doubles competition, in which she played alongside Belarusian Victoria Azarenka.
"Today I ended up losing here at Wimbledon, I couldn't finish the match. I ended up feeling a strong muscle contraction, kind of pinching and radiating to the leg. Maybe something with the nerve, we don't know yet. I have a very special team, who takes very good care of me, and I'm sure we'll treat it in the best way," said the Brazilian athlete.
Bia will return to Brazil to take care of the injury and relax. The Brazilian's next challenge will be the WTA 1000 in Montreal (Canada).
In a significant achievement, Haddad broke a 21-year drought for Brazilian representation in the round of 16 on the grass of London's Wimbledon, defeating Romanian Sorana Cirstea with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. However, the injury she sustained during Monday's match dashed her hopes of progressing to the quarterfinals. The last Brazilian to reach that stage was the five-time Wimbledon champion, Maria Esther Bueno, back in 1976.
Brazil in the doubles
While Brazil's singles campaign has come to an end, there is still hope in the doubles competition. In the women's category, Luisa Stefani and France's Caroline Garcia secured their spot in the quarterfinals with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Hungary's Timea Babos and Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens on Monday.
In the men's bracket, Marcelo Melo and his Australian partner John Peers advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in straight sets. They will now face Dutch duo Tallon Griekspoor and Bart Stevens in their upcoming match.
