New York AP —

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka returned to the U.S. Open semifinals without hitting a ball on Tuesday night because the woman she was supposed to face in the quarterfinals, 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, pulled out of their match with an injured knee.

According to the U.S. Tennis Association, Vondrousova is the first woman to give her opponent a walkover — the term for when a tennis player withdraws from a match before it begins — at the U.S. Open in the quarterfinals or later since 1988, when Steffi Graf advanced to the final when Chris Evert did not play their semifinal.

“I tried my best to take the court today, but during the warm-up, I felt again my knee, and after consultation with the tournament doctor decided not to risk aggravating the injur

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