Wimbledon has been rocked by the news that third seed Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from tournament.
Sabalenka — the two-time Australian Open champion — issued a statement overnight saying she was “heartbroken” and unable to compete due to an injured shoulder.
The popular 26-year-old was supposed to play Emina Bektas of the United States in the first round on Day 1 at the grass-court grand slam tournament.
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Word soon spread that the match would not go ahead, disappointing fans and commentators.
“Incredibly sad news as #3 Aryna Sabalenka, two-time semifinalist, withdraws from Wimbledon with a shoulder injury,” tennis journalist José Morgado wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Bottom side of the Women’s Draw now VERY OPEN.”
And popular social media account The Tennis Letter said it was “horrible news on the first day of the tournament”.
“She’s been dealing with a rare shoulder injury …. A big loss for the tournament. She’s played incredibly this season. Hopefully, she’s healthy for the rest of the year,” they said.
Sabalenka was devastated by the situation, penning an emotional statement on social media.
“Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won’t be able to play The Championships this year. I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating,” Sabalenka said.
“I pushed myself to the limit in practice today to try my best, but my team explained that playing would only make things much worse. This tournament means so much to me and I promise I’ll be back stronger than ever next year.”
Sabalenka, a semi-finalist at the All England Club each of the last two times she appeared there, was replaced in the draw on Monday by Erika Andreeva, who lost in qualifying last week.
A little more than a week ago, Sabalenka stopped playing during the first set of her quarter-final at the Berlin Ladies Open, citing pain in her shoulder.
She said she had a muscle injury that she called “very frustrating”.
“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,” Sabalenka said.
“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. We did an MRI, we did everything. We did a lot of rehab, a lot of treatments and everything.”
Another withdrawal was Belarusian 16th seed Victoria Azarenka, also due to a shoulder injury. She had been scheduled to play Sloane Stephens but will be replaced by lucky loser Elsa Jacquemot.
Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka returned to Wimbledon after a five-year absence and navigated a tricky first-round match against France’s Diane Parry on Monday, winning 6-1 1-6 6-4 with the help of nervous serving from her opponent.
Osaka, who was down a break on two separate occasions in the third set, said: “I wish I could say I enjoyed (the match) all the time,” Osaka, who has won both the U.S. and Australian Opens twice, said in an interview on court. “My heart was racing.”
There was no need for Coco Gauff to hide away from the spotlight as she banished memories of her 2023 Wimbledon nightmare with a 6-1 6-2 first-round destruction of fellow American Caroline Dolehide.
On the eve of this year’s championships, Gauff had admitted she had been “in a dark place” following her opening round exit in London last year but armed with the knowledge that things “couldn’t get any worse” this time round, she was simply unstoppable against her 51st-ranked rival.
“Last year I lost in the first round and it was very tough for me, that’s why I am a little emotional and that’s why I was happy to turn it around,” Gauff said.
Madison Keys, last year’s quarter-finalist, beat Martina Trevisan 6-4 7-6 (7-4) to reach the second round, where the American 12th seed will face China’s Yafan Wang. French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini beat Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-5 6-3 and now faces Germany’s Greet Minnen.
Emma Raducanu snapped a dispiriting sequence of first-round defeats for British players at Grand Slams as the wildcard beat Mexico’s Renata Zarazua 7-6 (7-0) 6-3.
British wild card Lily Miyazaki doubled her earnings for the year with an hour’s work as she reached the Wimbledon second round for the first time. The Tokyo-born 28-year-old pocketed $176,000 by beating Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch 6-2 6-1.
Another home hope, qualifier Sonay Kartal, shocked Romania’s 29th seed Sorana Cirstea 3-6 6-2 6-0.
– With AAP