Belarussian tennis player and World No.3 Aryna Sabalenka confirmed her withdrawal from the ongoing Wimbledon 2024. Earlier, the organizers of the Wimbledon Championships had announced Sabalenka decided to opt out of the Grand Slam tournament owing to her shoulder injury.
A day after the organizer announced her ruling out of the Wimbledon 2024, Aryna Sabalenka took to her Instagram handle to confirm about the same. The 26-year-old stated that she is heartbroken to rule out of the tournament as her shoulder has not been 'cooperating'. The Belarussian player revealed that her team advised her not to play the tournament as the shoulder injury might get worse.
“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 wrote on her Instagram story.
“I pushed myself to the limit in practice today to try my best, but my team explained that playing would make things much worse. This tournament means so much to me and I promise I’ll be back stronger than ever next year," she added.
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The world no.3 was scheduled to play against American player Emina Bektas in the first round of the women's singles event at the Wimbledon 2024. Aryna Sabalenka has been replaced by Erika Andreeva of Russia in the main draw of the tournament and will face Bektas in the first round.
Sabalenka defended her Australian Open crown at the Melbourne Park in January this year. Thereafter, the 26-year-old reached the semifinals of the Madrid Open and Italian Open. Aryna Sabalenka reached the quarterfinal of the French Open 2024 but lost to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva of Russia in three sets.
Sabalenka suffered shoulder injury at the Berlin Open
Aryna Sabalenka sustained shoulder injury during the quarterfinal against Russian player Anna Kalinskaya at the Berlin Open this year. The Belarussian tennis player had already hinted that she would withdraw from the Wimbledon Championships.
""I'm not 100 percent fit now," said Sabalenka at the press conference after quarterfinal defeat at Berlin Open.
"There is always a chance, yeah. It's really a specific injury, and it's really a rare one," she added.
Aryna Sabalenka didn't specify duration of her return to competitive tennis but it is unsure whether she will fit in time before 2024 Paris Olympics, with tennis event starting on June 29.
