"A little too early": Tomljanovic sad but proud after US Open withdrawal

Thursday, 31 August 2023 at 18:53

Ajla Tomljanovic has revealed that she is proud of the work she and her team did to get to the US Open despite being forced to withdraw from her second-round match against Elena Rybakina.

Australian player Tomljanovic made a good start to her run at the last Grand Slam of the season at Flushing Meadows. Although she dropped a set against Panna Udvardy in her opening round, the world No. 127 ultimately defeated the Hungarian player 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The 30-year-old ousted Serena Williams at last year's US Open in what was the final match of the American tennis legend's career. However, Tomljanovic has been dealing with a knee injury ever since that saw her miss a large part of the 2023 season.

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Tomljanovic says her body needs more time

As the knee injury continued to trouble her in New York, Tomljanovic made the decision to withdraw from her second-round match against fourth seed Rybakina, who now advances straight into the third round of the New York major.

Tomljanovic has since opened up on the reasons behind her withdrawal and her plans moving forward in a post on social media.

"Don't wanna make this a sad post even though I did pull out today," she wrote, "My body still needs more time to adjust to the intensity of high level tennis."

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Tomljanovic added that she was proud of her efforts and thanked the New York crowds for supporting her, before suggesting that she was going back to working on her recovery.

"I'm proud of the work we did to get here but it was just a little too early. Thank you to the NY fans for all the support, Monday afternoon was good for my soul. Back to work for me," she concluded.

Fans took to social media to wish the player well.

"Get healthy soon. Look forward to seeing you next year back in the greatest city in the world," wrote one.

"Love ya, Ajla! Heal up, queen," added another, followed by a heart emoji.