Johanna Konta Withdraws from Eastbourne Semi-Final with Spine Injury
British tennis star Johanna Konta has withdrawn from the semi-finals of the 2017 Aegon International in Eastbourne, Sussex, due to a back injury just a day after defeating world No. 1 Angelique Kerber to advance to the last four.
Konta was scheduled to face Karolina Pliskova in her semi-final fixture to continue her preparation ahead of Wimbledon, but the official WTA website confirmed on Friday that she will be unable to continue.
Pliskova clinches a walkover victory as a result and advances to the Eastbourne final, where she will meet either Caroline Wozniacki or Heather Watson.
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Konta recovered from a heavy fall to beat Kerber in their quarter-final clash on Thursday, after also defeating French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko earlier in the day to seal two morale-boosting wins.
It's particularly disappointing news for the world No. 7 considering it's fallen in such close proximity to Wimbledon, which is set to get underway on Monday.
WTA Insider illustrated the form Konta has shown of late:
As fate would have it, Konta's fall occurred with the Briton at match point, 6-3, 5-4 up against Kerber. Eurosport UK provided footage of the tumble in question:
Although the 26-year-old rallied to finish off her opponent at the time, playing through the pain won't be an option for Konta any longer as she takes her leave of Eastbourne hoping for a full recovery in time for Wimbledon.
It remains to be seen how possible that will be given the competition is now just days away, but the Guardian's Jacob Steinberg provided some hopeful quotes from the star on Friday morning:
Konta has been drawn opposite Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei in the first round of this year's Wimbledon, which looked as though it might be her best-ever chance at major silverware.
A run to the Australian Open quarter-finals for the second year in succession earlier in 2017 showed she's ready to contend with the world's best, but an ill-timed back injury could see her Grand Slam progress halted for now.
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