Tennis: Shahar suffers seemingly season-ending injury in China

Shahar Pe’er will apparently miss the rest of the 2013 tennis season after diagnosis of partial tear of foot’s plantar fascia.

By ALLON SINAI
Shahar Pe'er 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Shahar Pe'er 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Shahar Pe’er will apparently miss the rest of the 2013 tennis season after being diagnosed on Tuesday with a partial tear of her foot’s plantar fascia.
The 26-year-old Israeli, ranked No. 84 in the world, defeated Sharon Fichman of Canada 7-5, 6-1 in the first round of the Ningbo tournament in China on Monday.
However, an MRI on Tuesday revealed that she had injured her foot after feeling sudden pain during the match, forcing her to retire from the event and casting serious doubt over the remainder of her season.
“As a result of the tear, Shahar decided, based on advice from several doctors, to retire from the rest of the tournament,” read a message posted on Pe’er’s Facebook page.
“The decision about her care, as well as future tournaments and the rest of the season, will be made in the upcoming few days with her doctors.”
The injury comes at a particularly bad time for Pe’er, who has soared up the rankings in recent months after a difficult start to the season.
From a career-high of No.
11 in the world in April 2011, Pe’er plummeted all the way down to No. 179 in late June.
Only once in her first 17 tournaments of the year did Pe’er manage to advance past a main draw second round, losing 12 times to players ranked 100 or lower.
As a result, she lost her status as the Israel No. 1 for the first time since 2006, being leapfrogged by Julia Glushko.
However, despite failing to qualify for the main draw of Wimbledon and the US Open, the first time she has missed consecutive Grand Slams since making her initial breakthrough in 2005, Pe’er returned to the top 100 last month after reaching the final in Baku, Azerbaijan before winning the title in Suzhou, China.
Pe’er was hoping to also make a run at the Ningbo tournament following her first-round win, but injury has dashed any such hope and could bring her year to a premature ending.


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