Japan's Ayumi Morita Withdraws, Is it Australia's Olivia Rogowska's Big Break for a Rank in the U.S. Open?
Because of severe lower back injury, Japan's Ayumi Morita had decided to pull out of the U.S. Open on Sunday. Morita has ranked 51st and is set to play against fourth-seeded Sara Errani from Italy, who was also the runner-up at the French Open in 2012 and a semifinalist at the U.S. Open held on the same year.
Without Japan's Ayumi Morita, Erreni would play against Olivia Rogowska of Australia, who ranked at 152nd in the Flushing Meadows' first round. Rogowska has been labeled as a lucky loser, which means a player who normally loses in qualifying rounds but in the end, still participate in the main draw because someone withdrew from the game. She is 0-2 in the U.S. Open, because she lost in the first round in 2009 and 2012. Still, this can be her big break, depending on her own performance. The hard-court tournament begins Monday.
Olivia Rogowska's chances are not slim. With her experiences on court and off court, she might actually rank well this year. She has been playing tennis since aged five when her father, Slavek, introduced her to the sport. She already achieved her maiden ITF Futures title in 2008. She won in Sorrento when she was just 17. She made her Grand Slam debut at the 2009 Australian Open, then also as a wildcard player. She secured her first win when she played against Maria Kirilenko, a top 50 WTA player in the first round of French Open 2009, and who is now in the hot seat for admitting she lets her husband cheat on her once a year. She also achieved a top 200 WTA ranking in 2009, because of great ITF Futures results. So while this just landed in her lap because Ayumi decided to withdraw, she cannot be underestimated.