Svitolina hip injury update: Elina Svitolina took a medical timeout for a right hip problem after losing the opening set, then recovered to beat Karolina Muchova 3-6 6-2 6-2 at the WTA Finals.
The Ukrainian, seeded sixth, had lost her first group match 6-4 6-0 to Mirra Andreeva on Monday and made another slow start against Muchova. She then saved an early break point in the second set and the match swung her way.
Svitolina hip injury update
The medical timeout came after the first set, when Muchova led and Svitolina had won only three games. No further detail about the right hip problem was given during or after the match, and Svitolina completed the two-hour contest without visible restriction.
How the match turned against Muchova
Muchova finished with 39 unforced errors, most of them off the forehand, as Svitolina lengthened the rallies. The Czech could not recover from losing an early break in the third set and conceded another with her eighth double fault of the match.
Svitolina tipped her head back and roared after the final point. It was her ninth win over a top-10 player this year and her first at the WTA Finals since she won the title in 2019.
What Svitolina needs to reach the semi-finals
Svitolina can still qualify for the last four in California, but she will not know what she needs until Aryna Sabalenka's match against Andreeva is finished. Her route through the group depends on that result.
Svitolina said she "got a bit angry at myself" as the match slipped away. "I was really angry at myself after the first match and the first set," she told Sky Sports. "Sometimes it [channelling frustration] happens in a good way and sometimes in a bad way. I tried to direct my anger towards the ball and I found my game in the end."
Cameron Norrie and Holger Rune at the Stockholm Open
At the Stockholm Open, Britain's Cameron Norrie lost 7-5 6-3 to world number 10 Taylor Fritz. Denmark's Holger Rune, a year after rupturing his Achilles at the same event, beat Miomir Kecmanovic 2-6 6-1 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals after returning to the ATP Tour in October.
The original report is by bbc.co.uk.
