World No.5 Petra Kvitova has withdrawn from next week’s Kremlin Cup in Moscow due to a right hamstring injury.
The withdrawal came shortly after it was confirmed that she has qualified for the WTA Finals in Singapore. Kvitova, who won the prestigious title in 2011, will play in the WTA Finals for the fifth consecutive year. She is one of four players who have already qualified for the finals, which will begin on October 26th. Joining the Czech will be Maria Sharapova, Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep.
The Czech has endured a troublesome 2015 after suffering from mononucleosis (mono) which has forced her to withdraw from numerous tournaments including Indian Wells and Miami. Mono is a common illness on the tennis tour that has affected a wide range of players including Roger Federer, Heather Watson and Andy Roddick. The illness resulted in the retirement of Mario Antic from the sport and Robin Soderling hasn’t played on the tour since 2011 due to the after effects.
Despite the setback, Kvitova has so far won three titles this year is Sydney, Madrid and New Haven. Her best Grand Slam performance in 2015 was at the US Open where she reached the quarterfinals before losing to Flavia Pennetta.
Kvitova is the third withdrawal of the Kremlin Cup after Italy’s Karin Knapp and Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova. The top seed for the tournament will be Agnieszka Radwańska who will be bidding for her second WTA Title of the year after Tokyo. Other entrants include Lucie Safarova, Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber and Carla Suarez Navarro.
