Karolina Pliskova believes Ash Barty could return to tennis following her surprise retirement in March, but the Czech acknowledged she could not relate to the decision as she "likes the game too much".
Barty became just the second player to call quits on their playing career when ranked as world number one, after Justine Henin, with a shock announcement last month.
The 25-year-old cited a lack of "physical drive and emotional want" to compete despite claiming her second grand slam title at the Australian Open just two months before.
However, just as Henin did after retiring, former world number one Pliskova has a feeling that Barty, who defeated her in the 2021 Wimbledon final, may also return to the court in future.
"I was shocked because I'm not really on Twitter because I don't want to get too much information for myself," Pliskova told the WTA on Barty's retirement.
"But somebody messaged me and said, 'Oh, did you see the news?' It was 11:00 in the evening in Miami. I was like, 'No, no, did somebody cry again or something?' They said, 'No, no, Ashleigh, she stopped.' I'm like, 'No way, that's not possible. Tell me the reason.'
"I understand everybody's different. For me, it's not understandable at all because I just like the game so much. But I understand somebody maybe suffers, somebody doesn't like to travel.
"She basically won everything that she wanted to win, I suppose maybe she had no motivation. If you hate this tennis life and it's not what you always wanted to do, I think it's good to stop.
"But I was surprised and shocked. I thought she was a really good number one for our sport and she was there for a while. Of course now, Iga [Swiatek] is a really good player, but I just thought Ashleigh was a good person and she had good charisma. I'm going to miss her.
"But you never know. I think maybe she's going to come back. And then she's just going to be 27."
Meanwhile, Pliskova is focusing on her comeback as she continues to recover from a freak gym accident that resulted in a broken arm, which delayed the start of her new campaign by two months.
The 30-year-old, who has reached two major finals, made an encouraging return as she defeated Ukraine's Katarina Zavatska at Charleston Open but fell to Ekaterina Alexandrova on Friday.
"It was tough because people who follow tennis or me, they know I don't really have injuries," she added. "Even if I feel something, I still play. I never skip anything, not even practice or a tournament.
"The only break I had was this Covid break and I don't think that helped me. This injury was a bit more serious because I could not use my arm. I had a cast for a month or two. So it was quite a difficult time.
"I think things are going quite well. I just try to take the positives out of it, that I'm able to play after a couple months. It's been too long for me because with the offseason together, I missed four or five months.
"I know I'm not the player which can have five months at home and then I come in and win a tournament. I need some time to go through the feelings and the matches. I know it's going to take time, but just happy to be back."
Sinner avoids O'Connell upset at US Open
Jannik Sinner beat Australia's Christopher O'Connell in straight sets to reach the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday, avoiding a similar fate to Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
The men's draw at Flushing Meadows has been blown wide open by early exits for Alcaraz and Djokovic, but the top seed remains in the hunt after a composed performance.
He reached the fourth round for a fourth consecutive year with a routine 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory, setting the tone with several huge groundstrokes in the opening set.
O'Connell never looked likely to fight back as Sinner smashed 46 winners in a ruthless performance, wrapping up his win in one hour and 56 minutes.
The Australian Open champion will face either Tommy Paul or Gabriel Diallo for a place in the last eight, and he was relieved to survive an opening week full of surprises.
"Everything can happen in this sport, so I try to stay on my side of the net and I'm trying to take the tournament day by day," Sinner said in his on-court interview after the win.
"Each opponent is a very tough challenge and [I am] also enjoying every moment on the court. There have been already a couple of upsets, so let's see what's coming.
"But I'm very happy to still be here and hopefully I can play as many matches as possible. But as I said, we go day by day and then we'll see how it goes."
Data Debrief: Sinner heating up
Sinner lost his first set of the tournament to Mackenzie McDonald but has been largely untouchable since then.
He has only lost 18 games across his last nine sets of tennis, an average of two per set.
The Italian's winning streak now stands at seven straight matches, meanwhile, following his triumphant Cincinnati Open run.
US Open: Sabalenka overcomes first set scare to progress in late start
Aryna Sabalenka came from a set down to keep her US Open dream alive as she beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in the early hours at Flushing Meadows.
Sabalenka emerged on court at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at seven minutes past midnight following Novak Djokovic's shock exit from the tournament, and consecutive upsets looked to be on the cards.
However, the Belarusian responded from a disappointing opening set as she looks to avenge her defeat in the showpiece match against Coco Gauff a year ago.
The world number two set up a meeting with Belgium's Elise Mertens as she emerged a 2-6 6-1 6-2 victor in one hour and 40 minutes in New York.
"I don't know what I did, I was just trying to stay low, put as many balls as I can back on that side," Sabalenka said.
"She played incredible tennis in the first set. It was really tough to change it."
"I'm really happy I was able to turn around this match and get this really difficult win. Thanks so much for staying that late."
Data Debrief: Sabalenka survives late, late show
Sabalenka's encounter with Alexandrova was the latest starting match at the US Open, beating Gabriela Sabatini and Beverley Bowes' meeting in 1987 that started at midnight.
The Belarusian, however, will be hoping for a much improved performance in the next round, having produced 27 unforced errors throughout the contest and serving four double faults.
US Open: Djokovic played 'worst tennis ever' in Popyrin loss
Defending US Open champion Novak Djokovic suffered a shock exit at Flushing Meadows as he lost in four sets to Alexei Popyrin.
Djokovic arrived at the tournament with confidence following his gold medal triumph at the Paris Olympics, and was tipped to lift a record-extending 25th grand slam title.
However, the Serbian's hopes of a fifth success in New York were dashed as he followed fellow favourite Carlos Alcaraz out of the competition in the third round.
Popyrin emerged victorious in three hours and 18 minutes, prevailing 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 to confirm Djokovic's earliest exit from the tournament in 18 years.
"I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played," Djokovic said.
"Honestly, the way I felt and the way I played from the beginning of this tournament, third round is a success."
"I tried my best, I didn't have any physical issues. I just felt out of gas, and you could see that. From the first match, I just didn't find myself on this court.
"Life moves on. I'll try to recalibrate and look forward to what's next."
Data Debrief: Another one bites the dust
Djokovic was far from his clinical best, serving a career-high 14 double faults in a grand slam match and committing 49 unforced errors.
The Serbian will also end the year without winning a grand slam title, the first time he has done so since 2017.
But the day belonged to Popyrin, saving 12 of the 16 break points he faced against the world number two, finding particular success with his forehand as 31 of his 49 winners came from that shot.
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