- Sabalenka had previously hinted at an issue before the start of the tournament
- World No3 was looking to add to her Grand Slam haul after Australian Open win
- Erika Andreeva will take her spot after losing in qualifiers to Brit Sonya Kartal
World No3 Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from Wimbledon hours before her first match due to a shoulder injury.
The Belarusian star will be replaced by lucky loser Erika Andreeva, the older sister of teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva, who also begins her Wimbledon campaign on Monday afternoon.
Sabalenka had previously discussed her fears of not making her first round tie against Emina Bektas of the USA on Saturday, stating that she was not ‘100 per cent fit’ due to an issue that very few players have experienced.
‘We’re doing everything we can with my team to make sure I’ll be able to play my first match here,’ Sabalenka had shared. ‘But, no, I’m not 100% ready.’
‘It’s teres major. I call it just shoulder injury. 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.
Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from Wimbledon after failing to overcome her shoulder injury
The world No3 previously voiced frustration at being able to do nearly everything in her game
‘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. We did an MRI, we did everything. We did a lot of rehab, a lot of treatments and everything.’
As late as Monday morning, Sabalenka was still working in a bid to make her No1 Court, after saying over the weekend that she still had her ‘hopes’ after ‘fighting through a lot of pains in the past months’.
But just past midday, Sabalenka is said to have left her practice court promptly, and the 26-year-old pulled out of the competition minutes later.
Her withdrawal will hand a potential boost to former US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who was drawn into the same side as Sabalenka. Their section of the draw now contains just two players who have reached as far as the competition’s semi-final – Viktoria Azarenka and Karolina Pliskova.
Taking to Instagram, Sabalenka spoke of her ‘heartbreak’ at the withdrawal, writing: ‘Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won’t be able to play The Championships this year.
The 26-year-old took to Instagram to share her regret at the late withdrawal on Monday
Erika Andreeva – the older sister of seeded Mirra – will step into Sabalenka’s place on Monday
‘I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating.
‘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 (heart emoji)’.
Andreeva Snr was previously knocked out of qualifiers by British hopeful Sonya Kartal, who plays No29 seed Sorana Cirstea on Monday afternoon, but now has a chance to bolster her Grand Slam credentials.
The 20-year-old has never played in the main draw at Wimbledon, but will make her debut on Court 18 against the No107-ranked Bektas, with 13-seed Madison Keys moving onto No1 Court to play Martina Trevisan in Sabalenka’s place.
