Iga Swiatek’s bold Berlin decision turning out to be a good move as Wimbledon rivals falter

Iga Swiatek raised a few eyebrows after she opted not to play any grass-court tournaments before Wimbledon, but her decision appears to have been vindicated as her main rivals have struggled during the recent Berlin Ladies Open.

World No 1 Swiatek was due to be the top seed at this week’s grass-court event in a high-quality field that boasted several top 10 players in the WTA Rankings, including Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.

But the Pole announced her withdrawal from the WTA 500 event following a long, but successful clay-court season that saw her win three big titles in a row as she lifted trophies at the Madrid Open, Italian Open and French Open.

“Due to overall physical and mental fatigue after an intense 9 weeks, unfortunately I do need to withdraw from the tournament in Berlin in order to rest and recover,” the five-time Grand Slam winner said in a statement.

It meant Swiatek will head to Wimbledon without any matches on grass on her belt and it is always a risky decision, given that the likes of Gauff, Sabalenka, Rybakina, defending Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and two-time finalist Ons Jabeur were all getting minutes on the surface ahead of the major.

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However, the injury and illness curse have struck several players on the WTA Tour as first Vondrousova suffered a leg injury after a nasty slip during her second-round match. She retired injured and is yet to give an update about her fitness for Wimbledon.

2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina was next to be hit by the “curse” as she played just four games in the quarter-final against Victoria Azarenka before retiring with illness.

Rybakina also struggled during her round of 16 match while she also missed her Italian Open title defence due to health issues.

World No 3 Sabalenka then lasted only six games against Anna Kalinskaya in the semi-final before she retired due to a shoulder injury while trailing 1-5.

It was Sabalenka’s first-ever WTA retirement due to injury.

Jabeur, who had finished runner-up at Wimbledon the past two years lost the opening set 7-6 (11-9) against top seed Gauff before she also threw in the towel due to illness.

“It doesn’t feel like a win. We had such a good first set,” Gauff said.

“I wish Ons the best, I think it’s something that is just going to happen today and she’ll be better tomorrow, so hopefully she’ll be at Wimbledon.”

The quartet of Sabalenka, Rybakina, Vondrousova and Jabeur have just over a week to regain full fitness for Wimbledon as the tournament gets underway on July 1.