Steffi Graf will be sidelined at least a few weeks because of an ailing knee, an injury that forced her to withdraw from the Pan Pacific Open finals Sunday and give Martina Hingis her third straight title.
The match was to have featured the world's top two ranked women players, and Graf apologized to the capacity crowd of 8,800 during the award ceremony."I'm very sorry that I couldn't play today," she said. "I'm disappointed in myself."
The spectators, who booed the initial announcement of Graf's withdrawal, responded to her remarks with loud applause.
The tournament at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium is one of the biggest WTA events outside the Grand Slam series.
Graf, who initially hurt her knee last summer, said the injury flared during Saturday's 6-1, 7-5 semifinal victory over Brenda Schultz-McCarthy.
"I think it was 3-2 and on one of the serves," Graf said. "From that point I did have a lot of problems with my knee. I could not bend very well, especially on my serves."
Tournament organizers said Graf has a "severely aggravated patella tendon" in her left knee. Trainer Kathy Martin said the injury will take "a couple of weeks or longer" to heal.
"I felt lucky that I could finish the match. I tried to get as much treatment as possible," Graf said. "My knee hasn't been this bad in a match for a quite some time. It got a little worse last night, and this morning I went to see the doctor. I knew beforehand that I would have no chance to play."
This tournament was the first for Graf since her loss in the fourth round of the Australian Open and her first since her father was sentenced to prison in Germany for tax evasion.