Illness Forces Kvitova To Withdraw From Istanbul

Written by: Staff on 24th October 2012

WTA Championships - Agnieszka Radwanska vs Petra Kvitova

Illness Forces Kvitova To Withdraw From Istanbul

epa03443727 Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic reatcs after losing her match against Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland at the round-robin stage of the WTA Championships tennis tournament in Istanbul, Turkey, 23 October 2012. EPA/TOLGA BOZOGLU |

The WTA Championships have gotten off to an inauspicious start in what could be an abbreviated run in Turkey , with former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova withdrawing due to illness after one losing match. The Czech cited a viral illness as the reason and will be replaced in the draw by 2011 US Open winner Samantha Stosur, another dethroned Grand Slam champion.

Kvitova showed little spark a day before her pullout, losing her first group contest 6-3, 6-2 against Agnieszka Radwanska, who benefitted from 41 unforced errors. Stosur joins a round-robin group including Maria Sharapova and French Open finalist Sara Errani.

The healing process needs to be quick for Kvitova, who is due to play next week at home in Prague in the Fed Cup final against Serbia. ,

The eight-woman Championships are being staged for the second year of an intended three-year run in Istanbul . But reports from the site indicate that WTA officials are actively shopping for a five-year contract with another host city and would be prepared to ditch the last year in Turkey if that’s what it takes to nail down a new offer, likely to come from Asia.

@Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Agnieszka Radwanska, Istanbul tennis news, Petra Kvitova, Samantha Stosur, Sara Errani, Sports, Wta, WTA tennis news