Garcia, Mertens pull out of Chennai Open

CHENNAI: France’s Caroline Garcia and Belgium’s Elise Mertens have withdrawn from the WTA Chennai Open, scheduled to start on Monday at the SDAT Tennis Stadium. Garcia, who is ranked No.17 in the world, had to pull out due to scheduling challenges.

The Frenchwoman reached the semi-finals of the ongoing US Open in New York and was defeated by Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in straight sets on Thursday evening. Mertens,a former US Open semi-finalist, has pulled out due to injury. Meanwhile, five Indian women will kick off their campaign to qualify for the main draw.

Rutuja Bhosale, Riya Bhatia, Sowjanya Bavisetti, Sai Chamarthi and Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar are part of the qualifying draw and will attempt to join Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi in the main draw.