Belgian Women Having a Setback on the Tour

The renaissance of Belgian women’s tennis seems to be faltering in the build up to the French Open. Kim Clijsters already seems unlikely to be a starter because of her foot injury and now world no.12 Yanina Wickmayer faces a race against time to be fit for Roland Garros after undergoing surgery to have a bone spur removed from her left elbow.
Wickmayer’s injury is not thought to be tennis related. According to her spokesperson, it actually dates back eight years when she was accidentally knocked over by a car.

Nevertheless the 20 year-old travelled back to Brussels after being emphatically beaten 6-2, 6-0 by Jelena Jankovic in the third round of last week’s Internazionali BNL D'Italia in Rome and immediately withdrew from this week’s Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open where she would have been seeded 11th.

“Yanina underwent a small arthroscopic surgery to remove a small floating bone spur,” said her agent Olivier van Lindonk of IMG. “She will work very hard over the next two weeks and still hopes to be able to participate at Roland Garros.”
This time last year Wickmayer was ranked in the mid 60’s on the WTA Tour and only reached the second round in the French Open. But she progressed to reach finals in s-Hertogenbosch and Birmingham before making the semi-finals at the US Open.

Clijsters is doubtful for Roland Garros after suffering two small tears in the muscles of her left foot but Justine Henin, beaten in Madrid’s first round by Aravane Rezai, revealed she had been suffering from a virus after winning the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart and expects to be fully recovered in time for the start at Roland Garros on May 23.