Botic van de Zandschulp has withdrawn from the Libéma Open in Rosmalen at the last minute on Monday. The player from Veenendaal is still suffering too much from a muscle injury in his right bicep.
Van de Zandschulp sustained the muscle injury in the lead-up to Roland Garros. The world number 90 did decide to play in Paris, but after his defeat in the first round, he already indicated that he was not in top shape. “I have a stress fracture in my right bicep,” Van de Zandschulp told NU.nl, among others.
After his elimination, Van de Zandschulp returned to the Netherlands to prepare for the grass tournament in Rosmalen. “The preparations are going well. Botic is training well again,” his coach Peter Lucassen told NU.nl earlier this week. Van de Zandschulp had been on the training courts of Rosmalen since Thursday.
Four days later, the grass tournament in Brabant turns out to come too early for Van de Zandschulp, who was actually supposed to play on Monday. “Unfortunately, this tournament is coming too soon for me,” Van de Zandschulp said in conversation with Ziggo Sport. “It’s a complicated injury.”
De Jong and Lamens will play
Tournament director Marcel Hunze told Ziggo that he regrets the withdrawal of the Dutchman. “This is not the news I had hoped for. When I heard this morning that Botic wanted to speak to me, I knew something was wrong. Fortunately, we still have a great field of participants.”
Earlier this week, Tallon Griekspoor withdrew from the Libéma Open. The best Dutch tennis player has not recovered in time from the abdominal muscle injury he sustained during Roland Garros. Jesper de Jong, Suzan Lamens, Anouk Koevermans and Anouck Vrancken Peeters will play in the grass tournament in Rosmalen. Mees Röttgering and Thijs Boogaard can still secure a place in the main tournament through the qualifications.
Arianne Hartono was eliminated earlier today in the first round of the WTA 250 tournament. The Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto was too strong for the Dutch player in two sets, who was allowed to participate with a wildcard: 7-6 (11) and 7-5.