Wimbledon title favourite Petra Kvitova admitted she did not want to jeopardise her hopes of winning a third title at SW19 after pulling out of Eastbourne because of a hamstring problem.
The world number eight, who retained her Birmingham Classic title on Sunday, was set to play Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round of the Nature Valley International on Wednesday.
Kvitova, 28, came through a match against Kateryna Bondarenko on Tuesday with her right thigh strapped up.
??❤️ pic.twitter.com/9kRTySRUgo
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) June 27, 2018
The Czech – a two-time Wimbledon champion – confirmed she had decided to rest ahead of the start of next week’s grand slam.
“I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw from Eastbourne this morning,” Kvitova said in a statement on her official Twitter feed.
“I felt my hamstring in the Birmingham final and, although I played with tape in my match here yesterday, when I woke up this morning it felt worse.”
