After upset of Eala, Prozorova 'forced' to withdraw from Singapore Open semis

TATIANA Prozorova made it to her first tour-level semifinal, only to wake from her dream earlier than she would have wanted.

The world No. 180 from Russia, who stunned 18th-ranked Alex Eala in the second round of the Singapore Open, has withdrawn from the WTA 500 tournament after suffering a facial injury during her doubles quarterfinal on Friday night.

Prozorova and partner Sofya Lansere retired from their match against Miyu Kato and Ellen Perez after the Russian was struck in the face by a smash.

Play was stopped as Prozorova received medical attention.

The Singapore Open later announced that Prozorova’s scheduled singles semifinal against Talia Gibson would not be played, with Gibson advancing to the final via walkover following Prozorova’s withdrawal.

However, Prozorova said in her Instagram Stories that she wanted to play and claimed she was pressured into withdrawing.

“Unfortunately, organizers withdrew me from my semifinal match… The physio pressured me, implying I can’t make my own decisions… considering I was perfectly fine,” she said.

Prozorova said she felt fine a couple of hours after the doubles incident, but claimed the physiotherapist determined that she could no longer continue in the singles event.

The Singapore Open semifinal would have been the 22-year-old’s first at the tour level.

“The decision really upset me. My dream week came to an end today. It seems to me that [WTA] needs to reconsider their own rules, a system that renders players absolutely helpless,” Prozorova said.

She added that tournament organizers tried to fight for her right to continue competing, but the WTA decided otherwise.

“The organizers fought for my right to continue competing, but ultimately, the decision was made by the WTA,” she said.

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