Aryna Sabalenka, the third seed in Wimbledon, has withdrawn from the tournament due to a shoulder injury. The Belarusian player had to retire from a match at the Berlin Open last week and has been unable to recover in time for Wimbledon. Sabalenka attempted to practice earlier on Monday but had to leave after just 15 minutes due to the pain she was experiencing.
As the Australian Open champion, Sabalenka was scheduled to play American Emina Bektas in the second match on Court One on the first day of the tournament. However, she took to Instagram to announce her heartbreaking decision to pull out of Wimbledon. Sabalenka mentioned that despite trying everything to get herself ready, her shoulder was not cooperating. She pushed herself to the limit in practice but her team advised against playing as it would only make her injury worse.
With Sabalenka’s withdrawal, Russian Erika Andreeva, who lost in the final round of qualifying, will take her place as a lucky loser in the tournament.