Shnaider and Mertens withdraw from Wuhan doubles

Diana Shnaider and Elise Mertens have withdrawn from the Wuhan doubles tournament. Sport-Express reported their withdrawal on October 14, citing Belgian outlet Starsporttv.

The Russian-Belgian partnership had been due to face Czech player Nikola Bartunkova and Poland’s Maja Chwalinska in the first round. Tennis.com lists the originally scheduled match as cancelled.

Estonia’s Ingrid Neel and Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos replaced them in the main draw, according to the Belgian report. Starsporttv attributed the withdrawal to an arm injury affecting Mertens.

Shnaider and Mertens had recently reached the doubles semifinals in Beijing. Their withdrawal ends their participation as a pair in Wuhan without playing the opening match.