US Open fines Spain's Suarez Navarro $40K for poor effort

Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro has been fined USD 40,000 by the US Open for lack of effort in her first-round match against Hungarian qualifier Timea Babos, tournament referee Soeren Friemel said.

Suarez Navarro, a US Open quarter-finalist last year, matching her best Grand Slam run, retired at the end of the first set with a lower back injury.

The 30-year-old, who reached the fourth round last month at Wimbledon, won her only WTA titles at the 2014 Portugal Open and 2016 Qatar Open.

Grand Slam rules outline a code of conduct for performances in first-round matches, with players expected to perform to "a professional standard."