Swan is sixth best in Britain but top player in championshipWatson: ‘I have pain simply walking, so I won’t be playing at all’Katie Swan, sixth in the country and 254 in the world when the WTA list was frozen in March, is the top-ranked player in the Progress Tour championship intended to kick-start the disrupted season for British women in south-west London on Tuesday.The world No 50, Heather Watson, was the No 1 seed but pulled out on Monday afternoon with an ankle injury, joining the third seed and world No 146 Harriet Dart, who has a groin strain, along with the world No 14 Johanna Konta, who showed no interest in the £30, 000 event, the improving veteran Samantha Murray Sharan (WTA 180th) and the promising Naiktha Bains (223) as absentees from a noble venture. Even in a seriously shredded draw the one-time star of British women’s tennis, Laura Robson, who had a second hip operation last year, was not tempted to enter. Continue reading...
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jul/13/katie-swan-favourite-for-progress-tour-hit-by-watson-and-dart-withdrawals