Tennis: Germany's Petkovic pulls out of US Open
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Germany's Andrea Petkovic in action during the bett1ACES exhibition tournament in July 2020.
PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK (AFP) - Former top 10 player Andrea Petkovic of Germany has become the latest player to withdraw from the US Open tennis championships, organisers said on Friday (Aug 21).
A brief statement from the US Tennis Association said the withdrawal of 89th-ranked Petkovic, owner of six WTA titles and a former French Open semi-finalist, would allow Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk to move into the main draw.
The Grand Slam tournament, scheduled to start on Aug 31 at the National Tennis Centre in Flushing Meadows in new York, has seen a rash of high profile withdrawals over coronavirus fears.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal, top-ranked woman Ashleigh Barty and world number two Simona Halep are among a list of stars opting to skip the event because of concerns about Covid-19.
It was not immediately clear if that was what prompted Petkovic to pull out.
The 32-year-old was forced out of the Australian Open in January with a knee injury that required surgery in February.
She resumed training in May and played in an exhibition event in Berlin in July.
