The Stefanos Tsitsipas walkover has made headlines at the ATP Finals 2023 after the World No.6 retired in between his previous match against Holger Rune in Group Green. Rune was leading 2-1 in the first set when the unfortunate incident occurred. This has made many wonder – ‘What is a walkover in tennis?’.
A walkover in tennis means that a player is unable to complete or participate in a match due to any illness, injury, accident or personal circumstances. In that instance, a player needs to inform the chair umpire and tournament referee about the same and then it would be announced that the match is called off. A walkover in tennis would also mean that the opponent would qualify for the next round, as it is considered as a win by default even in the record books.
When it comes to the Stefanos Tsitsipas walkover, he decided to do so due to sustaining a back injury. However, many fans have slammed Tsitsipas and believe that he should not have played the tournament since he had been suffering from the same injury for more than a month now. The Greek star insisted that his medical team had given him a go-ahead if he wished to play as he was seemingly recovering well from the injury.
The Stefanos Tsitsipas walkover is not the first time that it has occurred in the ATP Finals. In 2021 as well, Tsitsipas suffered from a right elbow injury and went for a walkover after his first round robin match. These injuries have denied the Greek player, who won the title once in his career, back in 2019, an opportunity to add to his tally.
Tsitsipas was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference –
“My apologies to all the fans and the crowd that came to support me today and watch the match. I’m really gutted that I wasn’t able to finish the match. It’s a shame also not to give that spot to someone else to at least try and do something with it,” Tsitsipas said. “My doctors and the countless visits that I had in the past few days suggested that I play, gave me the green light to go and try it for myself.
“It’s very unfortunate. I’ve had two editions here in Turin where I had to withdraw from the tournament. Never happened to me before that I had to withdraw. Very, very few occasions that I can recall on that matter. It definitely hurts me a lot because this is the tournament that means the most to me, including the Grand Slams. I’m not able to compete the way I want to compete.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas walkover means Hubert Hurkacz will play
As they say, one person’s loss is another person’s gain. Although in this case, it will be only be for one match. Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, ranked No.9 in the world at the moment, had to take a quick flight to Turin. He will be taking on World No.1 Novak Djokovic in his final Group Green round-robin match.
Although Stefanos Tsitsipas has effectively been knocked out of the tournament with two defeats, the Novak Djokovic vs Hubert Hurkacz match is of huge significance. The second spot for the semifinals from the group is wide open as Novak Djokovic lost his previous match to home favorite, Jannik Sinner. Sinner has already qualified for the semifinals.
While Holger Rune benefitted the most from the Stefanos Tsitsipas walkover as the Dane lost to Djokovic in their first match. So it is all set to be a dog fight between Rune and Djokovic for the semifinals and Hubert Hurkacz will have a huge role to play in it, making it strangely one of the biggest matches of his career till date.
