Bencic retires in Cincinnati after the first set, US Open in doubt

Belinda Bencic retired from the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati after losing the first set to France's Lois Boisson, ranked 281st in the world. The set ended 6-3 to her opponent.

The St Gallen player, twelfth in the world rankings, had strapping around her left knee. Four days earlier she had already pulled out of the Toronto tournament. Two consecutive withdrawals at as many North American hard-court events complicate her preparation for the US Open, which begins in New York in less than two weeks.

The calendar at this point of the season leaves little room. Toronto and Cincinnati exist to build up matches on the surface used at the grand slam, and skipping them means arriving in New York without match rhythm. Bencic, Olympic champion in Tokyo in 2021, did not comment on her condition.

Waltert cannot find a way through

In the same draw Simona Waltert, from Graubünden and ranked 87th, was knocked out by Jessica Pegula, 6-3 6-2. The American is third in the world rankings.

The match statistics explain the outcome better than the ranking gap. Waltert served eleven double faults and lost her serve six times. Against an opponent who returns with Pegula's depth, an unreliable serve takes away the one shot that lets a player open the rally on her own terms.

For Swiss women's tennis the American swing therefore closes without a notable result. The group behind Bencic in the world rankings remains far from the top fifty, and for most of these players the route into the US Open main draw will run through qualifying.