MOSCOW, October 11 (R-Sport) – Sara Errani, Petra Kvitova and Jelena Jankovic have all withdrawn from next week's Kremlin Cup to focus on the WTA Championships later this month, depriving Russia's top tennis tournament of its top three seeds.
Former world No. 1 Jankovic, who won the tournament in 2008, injured her left hip in Sunday’s final of the China Open against Serena Williams and had to pull out of the Japan Open as well as the Kremlin Cup.
“I regret that I cannot play at the Kremlin Cup, although I would like to play for my Russian fans,” Jankovic wrote in a letter to the organizers of the tournament that was posted on its website. “I hope to meet with them some other time.”
Kvitova and Errani both cited back injuries for their reasons to miss the tournament in the Russian capital. Russia’s world No. 24 Yekaterina Makarova also withdrew due to a continuing right wrist injury.
As the result, the top seed of the women’s draw will be world No. 10 Angelique Kerber, who needs one more victory to qualify for the WTA Championships for the second year in a row.
The Kremlin Cup is a Premier-level event at the Olympiisky Sports Complex in Moscow with a prize fund of $797,707. It runs October 14-20.
