The night session in New York got flipped on its head. Just two hours before her quarterfinal, Marketa Vondrousova pulled out with a knee injury, handing World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka a walkover into the last four of the US Open. The defending champion advanced without striking a ball and sent a public note of support to her opponent: “So sorry for Marketa after all she’s been through… Take care of yourself and I hope you can recover quickly.”
The sudden turn ended what had been one of the stories of the tournament. Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon winner, had turned a tricky draw into a statement run, knocking out No. 7 Jasmine Paolini in the third round and No. 9 Elena Rybakina in the fourth. On Tuesday, she tried to go through her pre-match routine but felt her knee again in warm-up and made the difficult call, after speaking with the tournament doctor, not to risk it.
Vondrousova’s knee ends a statement run
Vondrousova arrived for the day’s prep with her left leg wrapped and hope that the knee would hold. It did not. In a brief statement, she apologized to fans, said she tried everything to compete, and promised to be back next year. For a player who’s fought through long injury stretches—most notably a wrist layoff in 2022 and shoulder problems this season—the timing stung. She had momentum, confidence, and a game that had been cutting through New York’s quick hard courts.
Her run carried weight for more than just the upsets. Vondrousova had found a rhythm that turned defense into offense on a dime, using her disguised lefty spins and quick redirects to disrupt big hitters. Against Paolini, she absorbed pace and turned it back sharper. Against Rybakina, she won key baseline exchanges by changing height and depth. The knee, though, is unforgiving when it flares in the final strides into a shot. If you can’t push off or trust the landing, you don’t step on court—especially not against one of the tour’s most punishing ball-strikers.
Here’s how the day reportedly unfolded behind the scenes:
- Midday: Treatment, taping, and a green light to test the knee.
- Late afternoon: Warm-up reveals pain with lateral movement and stops.
- Pre-match consult: Tournament doctor advises against playing.
- Two hours out: Withdrawal announced to organizers and then to fans.
Walkovers are clinical, but they carry a human hit. The opponent advances. The injured player loses the chance to swing for a semifinal and the points and prize money that come with it. For the record books, no match stats are logged. For the locker room, it’s a reminder of the calendar’s grind. Hard courts demand violent stops and starts; a tender joint doesn’t get the benefit of easing into things.
Fans who had circled this one were left with a reshuffled session and a different kind of evening at Arthur Ashe Stadium. For the USTA, the job becomes juggling broadcast windows and on-site programming. For Vondrousova, the job is rest, imaging if needed, and a plan to stabilize the joint—often a combination of anti-inflammatories, targeted strength work, and, most important, time.
What the walkover means for Sabalenka and the draw
For Sabalenka, this is both a gift and a puzzle. The gift: a free pass into the semifinals, no wear and tear, and the points and paycheck that accompany a final‑four spot. The puzzle: rhythm. She didn’t get live reps under the Ashe lights and will have to trust the work she’s put in over the past week. Big hitters usually like a groove. Without a quarterfinal hit-out, she’ll lean on practice courts to keep her timing tuned.
Her next opponent is No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula, who beat Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3 earlier to secure her place. It’s a matchup that comes with layers. Pegula’s return is one of the cleanest on tour; she takes the ball early, especially off the backhand, and neutralizes big first serves. Sabalenka brings first-strike power, heavy off both wings, and a serve that can run away with a set when the first-ball location is on. Their rallies will hinge on two numbers: Sabalenka’s first-serve percentage and Pegula’s ability to get the return low and short in the middle of the court.
There’s also the mental chess. Pegula prefers clarity—patterns she can recycle, targets she can hit on the rise. Sabalenka thrives in chaos when she’s swinging free but can give away runs of points if her margin shrinks and errors creep in. Expect Pegula to probe the forehand corner with pace and then flatten the backhand line when Sabalenka’s feet stop. Expect Sabalenka to step inside the baseline, take time away, and finish points in three or fewer shots whenever possible.
How much does the extra rest help? Physically, a lot. The second week of a Slam is where little things—hips tightening, shoulders barking—start speaking up. An off night can be the difference between feeling fresh in the semifinal and grinding through heavy legs. But rest has a trade-off: no feedback under pressure. Sabalenka’s team will try to simulate that in practice with high-pace feeding, serve-plus-one patterns, and scoreboard drills.
The reaction from both camps was respectful. Sabalenka’s Instagram note struck the right tone—empathy first, competition second. Vondrousova kept it straightforward: she wanted to play, she tried, the knee said no. It’s a window into the code among players. You hate pulling out because you feel you’re letting the crowd down, your team down, and yourself down. But everyone knows the cost of forcing it. One night of bravery can cost six months.
Zoom out and this is part of a larger conversation about scheduling and surfaces. The summer swing stacks heavy travel, heat, and back-to-back hard-court events. Soft-tissue problems and joint flare-ups grow in that stretch. The sport doesn’t have an easy fix—it balances player health, fan demand, and a packed calendar—but weeks like this bring the debate back to the top of the pile.
As for the draw, momentum shifts fast. Sabalenka has been tested early in New York in past years and built from there. She now enters the semifinal with a clean slate and the confidence that comes with holding the top spot. Pegula comes in sharp from a straight-sets win and a run of tidy numbers: a high first-serve in rate, controlled aggression on the forehand, and very few loose games on serve. The first set will likely tell the story. If Sabalenka lands early punches, Pegula’s margin will have to widen. If Pegula gets the match into exchange mode, long points tilt her way.
For Vondrousova, the next weeks are about clarity. That means diagnostics—how inflamed is the joint, how stable is the surrounding structure—and then a measured ramp. The player who owned this fortnight’s biggest scalp list won’t want to lose that form to a long layoff. The smart move is cautious, not heroic.
The calendar moves on. Thursday’s semifinal now carries extra focus. A fresh No. 1, a steady No. 4, and a night crowd ready to make noise. Different path, same stakes: two wins from the trophy and a place in the sport’s biggest spotlight.