U.S. Open Fines Carla Suárez Navarro $40K After She Retires from Match

Tennis player Carla Suárez Navarro was reportedly fined $40,000 by the U.S. Open just days after she retired from her first-round match due to a lower-back injury.

According to Reuters, the tournament found that she had violated the first-round performance rule. The outlet reports that the 30-year-old athlete retired after losing the first set of her match against Tímea Babos on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

“After reviewing reports from Medical Staff and Grand Slam Supervisors, the determination was made that Carla Suárez Navarro did not perform to the required professional standards,” tournament referee Soeren Friemel said in a statement, according to Reuters.

Suárez Navarro, ranked a No. 28 seed, posted a message on Twitter on Thursday, in which she didn’t directly refer to the fine but said “not the easiest weeks for me dealing with some back pain.”

“We made our best effort to be ready and play our heart out, but it got really worse during my opening match in New York,” she wrote. “Sad to leave this way from events I deeply appreciate.”

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According to the Associated Press, Suárez Navarro can appeal the decision. The outlet reports she was set to make $58,000 from her first-round performance.

The Grand Slam Board introduced the first-round performance rule ahead of the 2018 season, according to the AP, as a way to prevent players from entering tournaments while injured, only to retire in the first round.

The outlet reports that Suárez Navarro also retired from a match at a Toronto tournament earlier this month.