Pliskova to miss coach at US Open after visa error

PRAGUE: Karolina Pliskova will miss her German coach during her quest for a maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open after he failed to get a US visa, her team said on Monday.

“Sascha Bajin sought to get the US visa for a long time, but he failed,” Pliskova’s manager and husband Michal Hrdlicka said on her website. “During the Covid pandemic last year, Sascha stayed in the United States longer than he should have. He has a house in Florida and he didn’t want to travel too much.”

“But because of this, he has not got the visa this year,” Hrdlicka added. The 29-year-old Pliskova, this year’s Wimbledon finalist, has hired Czech coach Leos Friedl, a former doubles specialist, as a stand-in since the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month. World number four Pliskova is facing 130th-ranked Catherine McNally on Tuesday in the first round of the US Open, at which she reached the final in 2016.