(Provided by Tennis World USA)
2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic has withdrawn from The Championships as she continues to battle a nagging knee injury. Tomljanovic, 30, won’t be making her eighth Wimbledon appearance this year. After not enjoying much success in her first five Wimbledon appearances, Tomljanovic made her first big Wimbledon result in 2021 – when she made the quarterfinal before losing to former world No 1 Ashleigh Barty.
Last year, Tomljanovic proved her 2021 Wimbledon run wasn’t a fluke as she again reached the quarterfinal at The Championships. This time, she was beaten by Elena Rybakina.
Tomljanovic’s statement on missing Wimbledon
After experiencing many special emotions and memories in Wimbledon over the last few years I had very high hopes of making my return there this year.
Unfortunately, my knee is still asking for just a bit more time before I can have full confidence in it in order to play at my best level. Really eager to get back out there but this year Wimbledon came a bit sooner than I was ready for.
I know it will be worth the wait and am already looking forward to next year,” Tomljanovic said. Tomljanovic, was targeting to start her 2023 season in January but then was forced to miss the Australian Open and the entire Australian swing.
After being forced to skip the Australian Open due to a knee injury, Tomljanovic announced she had “a minor procedure done” to address the issue. Tomljanovic expected to be out for a few months but her recovery is taking longer than initially thought.
For Tomljanovic, this must be extremely disappointing. After making the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and the US Open, as well as at a WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati last year, Tomljanovic was hoping to make more notable results in 2023.
But then, she was struck by a knee injury, which sidelined her for the first seven months of the 2023 season. it remains to be seen if Tomljanovic will at least be ready to return during the North American hard court swing.
