Legion of limping champions rally around Barty after Roland Garros injury

Ash Barty will recuperate for several days in the hope of overcoming the hip injury that ruined her Roland Garros campaign with an aim to being fully fit for Wimbledon.

Ash Barty farewells Roland Garros after a hip injury ended her French Open campaign

In the hours after Ash Barty exited Roland Garros due to injury on Thursday night, the Australian received messages of support from some of her greatest allies on the tour.

Fellow grand slam champions Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova were quick to contact the world No. 1 to offer their solace, inquire about her welfare and attempt to lift her spirits.

This is scarcely surprising, for they are well aware of what Barty, who was trailing Magda Linette 1-6 2-a2 when she retired due to a hip problem, is going through.

The trio represent a legion of limping champions who are now aiming to be fit for Wimbledon after misfortune curtailed their clay court ambitions.

Halep tore a calf muscle in Rome. Kvitova injured an ankle while completing pre-tournament press commitments at Roland Garros.

Barty’s championship hopes were effectively cooked when she landed awkwardly while serving in practice on the weekend before the French Open.

Until next time Paris 💔❤️ pic.twitter.com/JBAjmpnUQK

— Ash Barty (@ashbarty) June 3, 2021

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “We have had such a brilliant clay court season and to kind of get a bit unlucky with time, more than anything, to have something kind of acute happen over the weekend and just … run out of time against the clock is disappointing.

“It won’t take away the brilliant three months that we have had, as much as it hurts right now.”

Barty did not divulge exactly what the issue is. But those who were aware of the pain the 2019 champion was in are surprised she managed to make it to the starting line at all, let alone win an opening-round match.

As was immediately apparent during her win over Bernarda Pera on Tuesday, Barty’s service motion was clearly affected by a hip injury she described as “acute”, so too her movement in general.

Her grit and court craft proved enough on Tuesday and while the dual-Miami Open champion was determined to push on, when the pain worsened against Linette, she withdrew.

“There’s a lot to it, to how I am feeling and the restrictions within my game,” she said.

“The serve was the biggest one. It was, essentially, I was trying to roll my arm over these last kind of four or five days and taking my legs out of it, which was a challenge in itself.

“We had a fantastic lead-up. And for my body to let me down is really disheartening, but knowing that we … did nothing wrong. It is something that can’t be explained at this time.

“There were no red flags. There was nothing. It was just an acute episode, which is tough.”

It ends a streak of seven consecutive majors where Barty has reached the second week of a grand slam tournament.

The next best live streak among players sits at two, which points to both the depth and evenness of the women’s tour as much as it does the Australian’s sustained excellence.

With Naomi Osaka withdrawing citing mental health concerns, Barty still retains a significant buffer at the top of the rankings.

Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated the Brisbane resident in the Madrid Masters final, will close the margin to 210 ranking points should she win the French Open.

Barty is scheduled to play a grass court tournament in Berlin, but her appearance there is in doubt. Instead it is likely she will recuperate in England, where she will be forced to quarantine for five days pending a negative Covid-19 test, in the hope of overcoming the problem.

Barty’s European sojourn mirrored that of the Australian contingent in France.

She started brilliantly, claiming a double in Stuttgart and then reaching the final of the Madrid Masters. But then misfortune struck.

Her compatriots Alex de Minaur, James Duckworth and Astra Sharma all posted strong wins on Tuesday, but were beaten on Thursday in matches they all entered with high hopes.

De Minaur fell to former French Open semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato 6-4 6-1 3-6 6-1.

Ons Jabeur reversed a recent loss to Sharma in a final in Charleston when too strong 6-2 6-4.

Duckworth served for the first set against Ricardas Berankis before going down 7-5 2-6 7-6 (4) 6-0.

It is far from an ideal result for Australia. But the French are reeling. For the first time in the Open era, no local managed to make it to the third round from the 29 in the men’s and women’s draws.