Won’t see this next week (photo credit: Cyril Caton)
The news is a few hours old by now, but I figured it’d be a good idea to get it on record here. Jennifer Kessy has been forced to pull out of next week’s beach volleyball world championship with unspecified injuries. April Ross will partner instead with the all-of-a-sudden hottest name in women’s beach volleyball, Whitney Pavlik. A month where she will partner with both April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings is quite a month indeed.
It has to be gutting for Jen to pull out of worlds, being that she had previously identified it as a big goal for the team, if not the big goal for the team. To put it mildly, there’s been some speculation that Jen is soon to retire, but this injury is not the end of the road for her:
I’m NOT retiring! I’m nursing some injuries and will be back in Long Beach w/ @AprilRossBeach. Don’t always believe everything you read!
— Jennifer Kessy (@JenniferKessy) June 28, 2013
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I can’t deny that I feel a little vindicated reading that (and there are numerous other media outlets who should be ashamed of themselves for running with unsubstantiated rumours), but it’s not about me (or them). Best wishes go out to Jen for a speedy recovery and a return to action in Long Beach. She was also on the starting list for the Gstaad Grand Slam, but that event starts just days after worlds, so I have to believe she’s out for that one, too. Long Beach isn’t until the end of July — a nice return date.
Obviously this doesn’t bode well for April Ross’s chances in Poland, but I’m sure she and Pavlik will have an extra, undeniably vociferous supporter in the stands for them.
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