Marketa Vondrousova withdraws from US Open, sending defending champion Aryna Sabalenka to semifinals

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 injury.

The U.S. Tennis Association's announcement of the walkover — about two hours before the match was scheduled to begin in Arthur Ashe Stadium — did not specify what was wrong with Vondrousova, a 26-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic.

She had advanced to the quarterfinals with a three-set victory over 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina on Sunday night.

Sabalenka now will meet No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the semifinals on Thursday. That is a rematch of last year's championship match at Flushing Meadows, which Sabalenka won in straight sets.

Vondrousova has been as high as No. 6 in the WTA rankings but a series of injuries over the years kept off the tour for stretches at a time. That included operations on her wrist in 2022 and on her shoulder last year.

She entered the U.S. Open ranked 60th and unseeded.

Pegula moved into her second Grand Slam semifinal by eliminating two-time major champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3 earlier Tuesday.

Pegula had been 0-6 in major quarterfinals until upsetting Iga Swiatek in that round at Flushing Meadows a year ago.

Now the 31-year-old American is the first woman to make the final four at the U.S. Open in consecutive years without losing a set since 23-time major champion Serena Williams did it every year from 2011 to 2014.

"I've been able to kind of go into those matches and really take care of business," Pegula said.

The last two women's quarterfinals are scheduled for Wednesday: No. 2 Swiatek vs. No. 8 Amanda Anisimova — that's a rematch of last month's Wimbledon final, which Swiatek won 6-0, 6-0 — and No. 11 Karolina Muchova vs. No. 23 Naomi Osaka.

That will be Osaka's first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2021 Australian Open, where she wound up claiming her fourth major trophy.