Reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber has been forced to retire from the Swedish Open due to an elbow injury.
The German, who lost the Wimbledon final clash against top-ranked Serena Williams earlier this month, sustained the injury during her first-round victory over local wild card Carolina Lister.
With the walkover, Spain's Lara Arruabarrena, who was scheduled to play second round against Kerber, has now advanced to the next round.
Reflecting on her decision, the top-seeded insisted that she was feeling discomfort in her elbow and, therefore, she had decided not to risk it,Sport24 reported.
Kerber said that she would now focus on the North American hard court season and is also looking forward to recover from the injury in time for next week's Rogers Cup.
