Tennis: Novotna's Wimbledon title defence in doubt

JANA NOVOTNA must wait to find out if she will be fit to defend her Wimbledon title after picking up a serious ankle injury at the French Open yesterday, writes John Roberts.

The 30-year-old Czech was taken from the court in tears after falling during a women's doubles quarter-final in Paris. Novotna and her partner, Natasha Zvereva, the fifth seeds, led Lindsay Davenport and Mary Pierce 3-2 in the first set when Novotna went over on her right ankle playing an overhead shot. She fell in obvious pain and was treated for several minutes before being taken from centre court in a wheelchair.

The French Tennis Federation's doctor, Bernard Montalvan, said there was no fracture but that Novotna would have to wait a week before knowing how long she would be out of action. He said: "On Thursday we will do an echography to see how badly the ligaments have ben damaged. She is suffering a lot but the tourniquet and the ice we put on immediately after the fall has stopped the ankle from swelling up too much." The Wimbledon championships begin on 21 June.

Martina Hingis will play doubles with Anna Kournikova at the Direct Line International Championships in Eastbourne from 15 to 19 June. The pair won the Australian Open title in January. In April, Hingis told Novotna, with whom she won the Wimbledon doubles championship last year, that she wanted Kournikova to be her regular partner. "I had heard rumours," Novotna said, "and, when I asked Martina, she told me I was getting too old and slow."