World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from Wimbledon hours before she was set to face world No. 107 Emina Bektas in the opening round of the tournament.
Sabalenka, who was one of the favourites to go all the way at the All-England Club, dropped the news after failing to recover from a shoulder injury she suffered in Berlin.
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Sabalenka retired in the quarterfinals of the Berlin tournament on June 22 and was unable to bounce back in time for the grass court major.
Although it will be a big drop in ranking points for the Belarusian star, it seems unlikely she’ll drop too far if at all in the rankings as she’s over 1400 points ahead of world No. 4 Elena Rybakina and will sacrifice 770 points from being a semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 2023.
Sabalenka shared a video in her Instagram Stories with the caption: “What the past week has looked like …” with footage of her trying to get her shoulder right for the tournament.
“We’re doing everything we can with my team to make sure I’ll be able to play my first match here,” Sabalenka told media on Saturday.
“I’m not 100 per cent ready.”
She also revealed it was a problem with her teres muscles, which extend from the scapula (shoulder blade) to the humerous (upper arm bone), saying the only thing it really affected was her serve.
“It’s really a specific injury, and it’s really a rare one. Probably I’m just the second or the third tennis player who injured that muscle,” Sabalenka said.
“The most annoying thing is that I can do anything. I can practice, I can hit my groundstrokes. I’m struggling with serving. That’s really annoying. You don’t feel like you’re injured. If you give me some weights, I’m going to go lift some weights. But if you tell me to serve, I’m going to go through pain.
“But I still have my hopes.”
The reaction was swift.
Tennis journalist Jose Morgado posted: “Incredibly sad news as #3 Aryna Sabalenka, two-time semi-finalist, withdraws from #Wimbledon with a shoulder injury.
“Bottom side of the Women’s Draw now VERY OPEN.”
The First Serve’s Christian Montega called the news “devastating”.
However, others claimed the move saw the “draw ruined” as lucky loser Erika Andreeva, the world No. 101, would replace Sabalenka.
Tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg commented: “I don’t blame Sabalenka for doing all she could to recover from this injury in time, but man, this women’s draw is now deeply heckin’ lopsided.
“Only Azarenka and Pliskova, who could meet in R2, have ever made a #Wimbledon semifinal before, among all players on the bottom half.”
Sabalenka has already withdrawn from the Olympics citing the need to “take care of my health” with the US Open starting three weeks after the Paris Games.
It’s been a chaotic day for Wimbledon with Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova also withdrawing due to illness.
She will be replaced by lucky loser Renata Zarazua of Mexico