Wozniacki says retiring from Luxembourg match had nothing to do with betting

Wozniacki denies wrongdoing in Luxembourg

DOHA, Qatar — Caroline Wozniacki denied on Monday that there was any wrongdoing involved last week when she quit a match one game shy of victory.

The WTA Tour is investigating a surge in online bets backing her opponent that occurred after her father, Piotr, was overheard telling Wozniacki to quit because she wouldn’t be able to play in the next round of the Luxembourg Open.

The 19-year-old Dane retired with a hamstring injury while leading Anne Kremer of Luxembourg 7-5, 5-0.

Wozniacki acknowledged that her father told her to quit — but only because she was in too much pain to continue.

“There was no chance for me to finish, so I decided to stop,” she said ahead of the WTA’s season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships. “I don’t have anything to do with betting. … So I don’t see any problems.”

Wozniacki said she initially felt the injury while serving at 5-5 in the first set, and received medical treatment on her left leg later in that game. She tried to continue playing, but “the pain just got worse.”

Her father came onto the court at 3-0 in the second, and was picked up by microphones advising her to retire.

“That was the first time he could come on court,” Wozniacki said. “He said, ‘It doesn’t matter what the score is going to be, if your pain is going to be worse, there’s no sense to continue. … If you cannot continue, you have to stop because you don’t want to ruin also this tournament (in Doha).’”

Wozniacki said she went to the hospital the next day, and that a scan showed she had strained a muscle. She was taped around her left thigh when training Monday but hopes to play in the lucrative eight-player tournament, which begins Tuesday with a round-robin stage.

Tour officials said last week they were looking into the match, and would pass along the information to the Tennis Integrity Unit, which was created by the sport’s governing bodies to combat gambling and match-fixing. The unit does not comment on ongoing investigations.

Wozniacki said she has discussed her reasons for quitting with tour representatives and does not expect any punishment.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “I think it’s just regular procedure that they have someone who’s looking into it, but I talked to them. There is nothing suspicious about the match that way. So it’s not really a big deal.”