• British No 3 misses Roland Garros with back injury
• Boulter left name in draw, then pulled out next day
Katie Boulter sent a ripple of bemusement through Roland Garros on Friday without hitting a ball, when she revealed the day after leaving her name in the draw that she was withdrawing from the tournament to rest her injured back.
The British No 3 and world No 112 will collect about £20,000 – half the first-round prize money – even though she indicated nearly three weeks ago that the injury she exacerbated in helping Great Britain beat Kazakhstan in the Federation Cup in London last month was not healing quickly enough for her to be fit for the French Open.
Related: French Open women’s form guide: the players to watch at Roland Garros | Jacob Steinberg
Related: French Open men’s form guide: the players to watch at Roland Garros | Jacob Steinberg