Just hours after Marta Kostyuk stormed into the singles quarters of SW19, she was set to return to court for doubles alongside partner Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Fans were eagerly awaiting the clash at Court 2, where the pair was slated to take on the tournament’s ninth seeds, Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs, for a place in the quarterfinals. But that showdown has now been called off after a sudden withdrawal stole the spotlight.

After beating the American Ashlyn Krueger 6-4, 6-4 in singles, the Ukrainian ace was due back on the same court just a few hours later for a women’s doubles. However, that never happened as Kostyuk and Ruse withdrew from the match. As a result, Perez and Schuurs were instead handed a walkover into the quarter-finals at the All-England Club.

The current world No. 12 had come through her singles match impressively earlier in the day. And the plan to return to court had been fairly straightforward after that win. She was expected to get some rest while another women’s singles fourth-round match took place on No. 2 Court, and then return later for doubles.

Kostyuk was also meant to complete her post-match media duties after finishing the doubles match. But the entire schedule took a turn when, at around 2.45 pm local time, it was announced that the Ukrainian would instead hold her press conference at 3 pm. Then came the withdrawal update.

At 3 pm local time, tournament officials confirmed that the Ukrainian-Romanian pair had withdrawn from the doubles event. The All-England Club, however, did not specify whether it was Kostyuk or Ruse who had forced the pair to pull out of the match.

While Kostyuk’s run in the Wimbledon doubles draw has now come to an end, her singles campaign remains very much on. She will now turn her full attention to the next challenge as she chases a place in the last four.

Marta Kostyuk opens up after beating Ashlyn Krueger at SW19

After beating Krueger, Marta Kostyuk improved to a perfect 10-0 record this season against players from the US. The 22-year-old American had come into the contest in excellent form on grass. The former world No. 29 carried a strong 16-1 record on the surface this season, which made Kostyuk’s straight-sets win even more notable.

And speaking on court after the match, the French Open semifinalist admitted the conditions made the battle much harder. “Today was a very difficult day, very hot. The longer you stay on this surface, actually the worse you feel. (It) was a big fight, difficult conditions, super windy today,” Kostyuk added.

Still, there were visible signs that the 12th seed at SW19 was not fully comfortable by the end of the match. Even after sealing the win, she remained seated at her bench for several minutes. She drank water, closed her eyes, and stretched for a bit before eventually getting up for her on-court interview.

For now, her focus turns to a singles quarterfinal against the former world No. 4 Jasmine Paolini, who recently booked her own place in the last eight by beating Alexandra Eala.

In the meantime, as no exact reason has yet been given for the doubles withdrawal, which leaves fans waiting to see whether Kostyuk will recover in time and return at full strength before facing the Italian.