Stuttgart Open: Sabalenka advances to last eight after Badosa retirement

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, reached the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open when Spaniard Paula Badosa retired at the Porsche-Arena on Wednesday.

Sabalenka, ranked No 2, led 7-6 (4), 4-6, 3-3 when Badosa, ranked No 93, pulled out on Wednesday at the Porsche-Arena.

Badosa took a medical time-out at the end of the second set and withdrew due to a left thigh injury.

“I think it’s very important in this competitive atmosphere to have a friend,” Sabalenka said about her close friend. “I love this girl, and I feel so bad, [she’s] not feeling her best and I literally was about to cry.

“I feel for her and I really hope that she’s gonna recover as soon as possible, and that she’ll be ready for Madrid. Once again, I’m really grateful to have such a friend like Paula.”

The Belarusian will play the winner of the match between No 6 seed Marketa Vondrousova and Russian Anastasia Potapova next.

The Spaniard defeated Russian qualifier Diana Shnaider (6-3, 6-4) in the previous round of the Stuttgart tournament.

You might also like this

Sabalenka explains biggest change to her game: “I’m going for bigger targets”

tennis majors

What next for Aryna Sabalenka following back-to-back Australian Open success?

tennis majors

Stuttgart WTA 500, other second-round results (Porsche-Arena, clay, USD 802.237, most recent results first):

• Qinwen Zheng vs. Marta Kostyuk
• Emma Raducanu vs. Linda Noskova
• Iga Swiatek vs. Elise Mertens
• Marketa Vondrousova vs. Anastasia Potapova
• Jasmine Paolini vs. Ons Jabeur
• Elena Rybakina vs. Veronika Kudermetova
• Coco Gauff (3) beat Sachia Vickery (Q): 6-3, 4-6, 7-5