SURGERY FORCES ROBSON TO ABANDON WIMBLEDON
LAURA ROBSON will miss Wimbledon this summer after deciding to have surgery on her troublesome left wrist. The British No 1, who impressed last year when she reached the fourth round at the All England Club, has ruled herself out of the French Open, too. Robson has not played since her first-round defeat by Kirsten Flipkens in the Australian Open and has dropped down to No 64 in the world. Injections have failed to cure the wrist problem, so the 20-year-old has opted for an operation. Robson said on her Facebook page: ‘I wanted to inform my lovely supporters that I have decided to have minor wrist surgery at the Mayo clinic in the United States with one of the best wrist doctors in the world, Dr Richard Berger. ‘Dr Berger is very confident that I will be able to return to the tennis court pain free before you even have time to miss me. Although, sadly, I will have to miss the French Open and Wimbledon.’ Robson broke into the world’s top 30 before injury struck. She missed the Rogers Cup last year with an injured right wrist and, since linking up with coach Nick Saviano in November, has played just two matches. The Briton pulled out of her opening match in the Australian Open warm-up in Hobart before losing in the year’s first Grand Slam. She reached a career high ranking of 27 last summer but this, the latest in a long sequence of injuries, will drop her outside the world’s top 100 again. That threatens to leave Britain without a woman gaining direct entry into the Grand Slams, although Heather Watson and Jo Konta are within striking distance of the top 100. Wrist injuries can take months to overcome. Robson is said to have consulted Juan Martin del Potro, who has been plagued by such problems since winning the US Open in 2009.