Tennis legend Roger Federer recently announced he would be withdrawing from all tennis tournaments for the remainder of the year. Fresh off the heels of announcing his absence from the Rogers Cup, the Swiss Maestro, who was ready to head to Rio 2016 for the Olympic Games alongside Stan Wawrinka, women’s top singles seed Belinda Bencic has announced she will also be withdrawing.
The 19-year-old, who won her first Masters title at the Rogers Cup in 2015, was to headline the team’s singles attack at the Olympics, and partner top-ranked player Martina Hingis in the doubles event.
16th-ranked Bencic has still not recovered from a previously-sustained wrist injury, which saw her Wimbledon 2016 journey derailed in the Round of 64, with Bencic forced to retire while up a set against Julia Boserup of the United States.
Having already lost its top men’s player, the Swiss team will now be reeling with back-to-back losses. One player significantly affected by both is Hingis, who was due to partner Federer in the mixed doubles and Bencic in the women’s.
There has been no announcement yet as to who will replace Bencic and Federer respectively, but the withdrawals could mean Wawrinka will partner Hingis. With singles player Timea Bacsinszky also on the team, Hingis could partner the former top-10 player instead.
