Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from Wimbledon! The third seed faced uncertainty as she prepared to open against American Emina Bektas, as a shoulder injury cast doubt on her ability to step on the court on Monday.
Talking to the press at Wimbledon, Sabalenka revealed details about the injury that is preventing her from being physically ready for the grass-court Grand Slam. Last month at Roland Garros, the Belarusian struggled with a stomach issue in her quarterfinal loss to Mirra Andreeva. It took her five to six days to fully recover, but that was not the end of her woes. A rare shoulder injury is now making her unable to serve, which is a major problem ahead of her Wimbledon campaign.
When asked if she was 100% fit for Wimbledon, Sabalenka admitted: “No, I’m not 100% fit now and we’re doing everything we can with my team to make sure I’ll be able to play my first match here.”
She revealed that the injured muscle is the teres major, an extremely uncommon injury among tennis players. The frustrating thing is that Sabalenka doesn’t really feel injured, as she can lift weights, hit groundstrokes, etc. The only motion she’s having trouble with is serve, and she can’t play without serving:
“It’s a very specific injury. It’s really a rare one. Probably I’m just the second or the third tennis player who injured that muscle. That’s a very frustrating one. The most annoying thing is that I can do everything — I can practice, I can hit my groundstrokes, but I’m struggling with serving.”
The 26-year-old was doing all types of rehab to try to recover and make herself ready to defend the semifinal points she earned last year. However, there remained a big question mark and it was really frustrating. For the longest time it was unclear whether Sabalenka would manage to recover fast enough to play her first-round match at Wimbledon and whether the state of her injury would be able to improve as the tournament went on. Shortly before her first-round match, Sabalenka pulled out. She doesn’t want to play through too much pain and risk making things worse, thus reducing her chances for the rest of the season.
Noting that she has never had serious injuries in her career, Sabalenka said: “The struggles I’m going through right now, that’s a lot. I would say that past month was really challenging for me. I’ve been fighting through a lot of different pains.”
In addition to the physical pain, the mental burden is overwhelming for Sabalenka. She tries to distract herself by spending time with her team and friends, exploring cities, enjoying good food, and watching light comedies. Despite these efforts, maintaining a positive outlook remains challenging.
As you may know, Sabalenka has decided to skip the Olympic Games in Paris to prioritize her health. She reiterated this decision at the Wimbledon press conference, saying, “I decided to sacrifice the Olympics for my career, for my health, actually.”
