Defending champion Elena Rybakina advances to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon after her opponent Beatriz Haddad Maia retired due to injury just five games into their match on Centre Court.
Haddad Maia had hoped to cause an upset, but at 2-1 down and on the verge of being broken, she appeared to injure her back mid-rally, rendering her unable to move. Despite receiving treatment and continuing to play until Rybakina took a 4-1 lead, the Brazilian tearfully made the decision to retire.
“It’s never easy to finish a match like this,” Rybakina expressed in her on-court interview. “I hope it is nothing serious, it’s really unfortunate for Beatriz. Hopefully, she will recover soon. I’m just happy to move on to the next round. I was feeling the ball really well despite the windy conditions today. No more tennis for me today, but I will practice tomorrow.”
In another match, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva faced a controversial exit at the same stage, losing 3-6 7-6(2) 2-6 to Madison Keys. Andreeva took an early lead by winning the first set, but Keys, with her immense experience, fought back in the second set and dominated in the decider.
The end of the match between Andreeva and Keys was filled with drama as Andreeva received a point penalty for racquet abuse, resulting in her loss. Andreeva protested her innocence but to no avail. She then left the court without shaking the umpire’s hand.
Rybakina will go up against Ons Jabeur in the next round, while Keys will face world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. Jabeur defeated Petra Kvitova with ease, losing only three games. Sabalenka was equally ruthless in her victory against Ekaterina Alexandrova, with a convincing scoreline of 6-4 6-0.
In the women’s doubles, Haddad Maia and her partner Victoria Azarenka withdrew from their second-round match against Vera Zvonareva and Laura Siegemund due to Haddad Maia’s injury. Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo defeated Chan Hoa-ching and Latisha Chan, while Marketa Vondrousova and Miriam Kolodziejova triumphed over Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Marta Kostyuk. Barbora Strycova and Hsieh Su-wei teamed up to defeat Miyu Kato and Aldila Sutjiadi, and Oksana Kalashnivkova and Iryna Shymaovich emerged victorious against Ingrid Gamarra Martins and Lidziya Marozava.
British duo Maia Lumsden and Naiktha Bains secured their spot in the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 6-3 6-7(5-7) 6-3 win over Viktoria Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova.
You can catch daily highlights from Wimbledon on Eurosport 2 at 10 PM, as well as the live coverage of the singles finals on July 15 and 16.
For the latest updates on Wimbledon, including the order of play and schedule for Day 7, check out the links below:
– Wimbledon 2023: Day 7 Order of Play and schedule – When are Djokovic, Swiatek, and Pegula playing?
– Rybakina sweeps past Boulter with dominant display in the third round.
