MY ACCOUNT
Harmony Tan’s unexpected first-round singles win over Serena Williams at Wimbledon prompted her to quit the doubles tournament, leading to a social media rant from her partner, who suggested she was not cut out for professional tennis.
Tan had entered the doubles draw alongside Tamara Korpatsch, with their first-round match against Raluca Olaru and Nadiia Kichenok set for Wednesday.
But Tan perhaps had not expected to be playing late into Tuesday evening and then to have a second-round singles contest to prepare for against Sara Sorribes Tormo on Thursday.
The Frenchwoman came through an epic back-and-forth on Centre Court to beat seven-time champion Williams – in singles action for the first time in almost a year – 7-5 1-6 7-6 (10-7).
Tan gained little sympathy from Korpatsch, however, with the German out of the singles competition on Monday following a three-set defeat to Heather Watson.
“Unfortunately my doubles partner H. Tan retired from our doubles today,” Korpatsch wrote on her Instagram page.
“She just texted me this morning. Let me wait here one hour before the match start.
“I’m very sad, disappointed and also very angry that I can’t play my first doubles grand slam. And it’s really not fair for me. I didn’t deserve that.
“She asked me before the tournament if we wanna play doubles and I said yes, I didn’t ask her, she asked me!
“If you’re broken after a three-hour match the day before, you can’t play professional. That’s my opinion.”
Korpatsch’s frustration continued on her Instagram story, where she had initially revealed the news, suggesting she was capable of playing more than six hours one day and still taking to the court the next.
She later added: “Thanks for all your comments. But I would like to say: I don’t hate my doubles partner for withdrawing. I just want to share my feelings and opinion about my situation.
“If I’m still competing in singles, I would still feel and do the same. I wanted to play my first doubles grand slam. That was my chance.
“Yesterday she [Tan] was so motivated to me, and I was happy about our doubles.
“But just today in the morning getting this message feels very painful. It’s not a WTA tournament, which I can play almost every week. It’s a grand slam.”
