Current world No.1 Ashleigh Barty was forced to retire in the second round of the French Open. The Australian gave a walkover to her Polish opponent Magda Linette when the game was at 6-1,2-2. Ashely had a bandage on her left thigh from the start of the match and never looked in control of the match. She struggled to match up with her opponent because of her injury, and finally, in the middle of the 2nd set, she retired hurt herself.

Tennis fans worldwide were downhearted by the incident, as Ashleigh Barty was one favorite to win the French Open 2021. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been a great tournament for the Australian as she was also struggling in the first round of the tournament due to a hip problem but somehow managed to pull off a win.

Ashleigh Barty gives an update about her injury

After the match, Ashleigh Barty arrived at the press conference to give an update about her injury. She spoke to the media about how she felt when she had to retire from the match and how the injury was an acute episode. Barty said- “We did everything possible, but we ran out of time, which sucks… For my body to let me down is really disheartening. We did nothing wrong in the lead-up. There were no red flags. It was just an acute episode, which is tough.”

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When asked about the hip injury, Barty replied that this injury was a new one for her, making it more difficult to cope. She said-“It’s disappointing, but no panic, we know what’s going on and we’re going to work to be back on the court as soon as possible.” 

Barty wants to return to the court as soon as possible

Even though the injury caused her the chance of winning a grand slam, Ashleigh was happy about her overall performance in the clay this season. She also expressed her will to return to full fitness as soon as possible by recovering and working hard. Barty added-“We did absolutely everything we could to give myself a chance. It sucks. But now, (I’ll work) on a recovery as soon as possible.”

Ashleigh Barty is still the world No.1 in the ATP ranking, and it seems like she will still be the world No.1 at the end of the French Open. The current world No.2 Naomi Osaka has also given a walkover in round 2 of the French Open. As the top 2 ranks in the women’s division is out early, fans are eager to see who will be the French Open winner of 2021.

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