Potapova retires in Hertogenbosch round of 16 due to illness

After the first break for the Turkish player in the second set, she ended the match. Prior to that, Potapova, "die 25-Jährige", had taken a medical timeout. The cause of her retirement was not initially known. "Bereits vor ihrem Einzel hatte sich die 25-Jährige aus dem Doppel-Bewerb abgemeldet."

For the "Neo-Österreicherin", "Die als Nummer fünf gesetzte Neo-Österreicherin", the grass tournament has now ended prematurely. The exit in the round of the last 16 represents a setback in her preparation for the upcoming grass season, which will shortly feature Wimbledon.

Implications for Potapova's grass season

The young Austrian's form curve had recently produced mixed results. With her early exit in 's-Hertogenbosch, she loses not only potential ranking points, but also important match practice on a surface that is unfamiliar to her. Grass matches are considered a particular challenge, as the fast surface demands even more from footwork and reaction time than hard court.

Sönmez advances to the quarterfinals

Zeynep Sönmez, who put together a perfect first set in an impressive 23 minutes, advances to the quarterfinals through the walkover of the remaining games. For the Turkish player, it is another success on the WTA Tour, after she had recently consistently been ranked in the top 70. She now faces the winner of another round of 16 match.

Serena Williams and the doubles comeback

Parallel to the action in the Netherlands, another comeback made headlines on Tuesday. "Die 44-jährige Williams" had returned to the tennis stage after a four-year tournament break with a victory against Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) and Erin Routliffe (New Zealand). Serena Williams' comeback in London ended due to an injury to her doubles partner Victoria Mboko before the quarterfinals. "Im Einzel verletzte sich die 19-jährige Mboko aber."

Williams would like to compete in doubles in Berlin next week as well. It is still unclear which partner the US star will be playing with there. As a result, the German capital will move further into the focus of tennis attention in the coming days.

Potapova's retirement is part of a series of health-related withdrawals in top-level tennis. How long the Austrian will have to pause and whether she will be fit to compete again at the next tournament remained unclear initially. A statement from her team was not available by the editorial deadline.