Anna Kournikova has pulled out of Wimbledon with a back injury. The Wimbledon referee’s office said on Monday the Russian had notified the All England Club of her withdrawal on Friday. Also withdrawing were men’s No. 4 ranked Carlos Moya, and Germany’s Tommy Haas, both with unspecified injuries. Wimbledon starts on June 23.
A tearful Kournikova withdrew from the DFS Classic grass court tournament in Birmingham last Monday after aggravating her back injury in practice.
Kournikova, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 1997, has won only one of 10 matches this year on the WTA Tour and has withdrawn from a series of tournaments with leg and back problems. She has slipped to No. 77 in the rankings. Kournikova hasn’t played in a tour-level tournament since retiring from her opening match at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, S.C., on April 9.
Spain’s Carlos Moya, ranked fourth in the world, and Germany’s Tommy Haas have also both pulled out.
Moya lost in the French Open quarterfinals in five sets to eventual champion Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Haas, a former US Open semifinalist, had surgery on his rights shoulder in December and missed the French Open and last week’s Wimbledon tuneup in Halle, Germany.
Other players who have withdrawn include 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic, Monica Seles and former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson. – Sapa-AP