US Open: Marketa Vondrousova withdraws with injury; No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka automatically advances to face Jessica Pegula in semis

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Marketa Vondrousova has withdrawn from her US Open quarterfinal match against No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka with injury. 

Sabalenka will automatically advance to face No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the semifinals. For Vondrousova, her withdrawal marks a heartbreaking end to a run that included multiple wins over some of the world’s top players.

Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, was scheduled to face Sabalenka Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. The US Open confirmed her withdrawal Tuesday afternoon and announced that it would issue a revised schedule around the cancellation of the prime-time match. 

Shortly after the news broke, ESPN reported that Vondrousova sustained her injury during practice ahead of Tuesday’s scheduled match and showed video of the apparent injury. 

Vondrousova hit a forehand and immediately doubled over in apparent pain. Per ESPN, she did not hit another shot at practice and was in tears as she talked with members of her team. The precise nature of her injury wasn’t initially clear. 

Vondrousova, unseeded, advanced to the quarterfinals with three wins over seeded opponents. She defeated No. 32 McCartney Kessler in the second round, No. 7 Jasmine Paolini in the third round and No. 9 Elena Rybakina in the fourth round to earn her quarterfinal match against the No. 1 player in the world. Vondrousova’s run matches her previous best effort at the US Open that ended in the quarterfinals in 2023.

The result sets up a rematch of last year’s US Open final between Pegula and Sabalenka that Sabalenka won (7-5, 7-5) to secure her third career Grand Slam title. 

This story will be updated.