World No. 8 Belinda Bencic withdrew from the US Open on Saturday, becoming the fifth of the top eight WTA players to pull out of the Grand Slam event in New York amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Bencic, 23, was a Grand Slam semifinalist for the first time in her career in last year’s event. She lost to eventual champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada.
“I have made the difficult decision to skip the US swing in New York and will return to the tour starting next month in Rome,” Bencic of Switzerland wrote on multiple social media accounts. .”.. I am looking forward to returning to New York next year and wish everyone competing there in the coming weeks the best of luck.”
The Italian Open, a French Open tune-up, begins Sept. 14. (CBC)