Tennis news - CoCo Vandeweghe explains bizarre warm-up following accusations of petulance
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Published 12/08/2021 at 21:18 GMT
A video of the American former US Open semi-finalist went viral on social media after she appeared to be refusing to properly warm-up in her match with Ekaterine Gorgodze on the ITF circuit. But Vandeweghe says she was just conserving energy following a sinus infection and heat exahustion.
CoCo Vandeweghe has attempted to clear up a strange warm-up video which attracted attention on social media
Image credit: Getty Images
CoCo Vandeweghe has attempted to clear up the reason for her strange warm-up at an ITF event in Pennsylvania, which went viral on social media.
The American former US Open semi-finalist was accused of being "petulant" by one Twitter user, after she refused to properly go through the motions before the resumption of her match with Georgian Ekaterine Gorgodze at the Koser Jeweler Tennis Challenge.
The knock-up was taking place at the start of the third set of her first round match, which had been carried over to the next day following a rain delay.
But Vandeweghe stayed virtually rooted to the spot behind the baseline, nonchalantly hitting the ball back to her opponent and at one stage, even changing hands.
Having seen the video circulating online, the 29-year-old, who is currently ranked 151 in the world, explained her strange behaviour on social media.
In a statement released on Twitter, she said she had been suffering from a "severe sinus infection" which affected her breathing and then started to experience symptoms of heat exhaustion.
“By the end of the second set my entire body was cramping intensely and I had extreme nausea. I struggled to finish.” she said.
“After the (heat) suspension was lifted my opponent requested a warm-up; I informed the umpire that I preferred to skip the warm-up, citing my exhaustion and general illness in an attempt to conserve energy for what would be a gruelling third set under the conditions.
In lieu of my participation I recommended that my opponent warm up with her coach — this is allowed by rule. Ekaterine and her coach declined and instead requested that I warm up with her.
I attempted to conserve as much energy as possible during the warm-up in preparation to compete with all of my ability in the third set.”
Vandeweghe ended up withdrawing the match shortly after that and giving a walkover to Gorgodze, who will face Britain's Wimbledon breakout star Emma Raducanu, who is preparing for the US Open after being given a wildcard.
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