Aryna Sabalenka withdraws from Wimbledon 2024 hours before first-round match
The third seed cited shoulder injury as her reason for pulling out of the tournament
Third seed Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the 2024 Wimbledon just hours before her first match against American Emina Bektas due to a shoulder injury, she confirmed via her Instagram account.
Sabalenka will now be replaced by Russia’s lucky loser Erika Andreeva, who lost to Sonay Kartal in the qualifiers last week.
"I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating," Sabalenka said on Instagram. "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," she added.
"This tournament means so much to me and I promise I'll be back stronger than ever next year."
Sabalenka sustained a lower back injury this year after winning the Australian Open 2024 and she also played Roland Garros with illness where she lost to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva.
During a presser on June 29, she confirmed that she is still not at her best while heading into the third Grand Slam of this year as she retired from the Berlin Open last week due to a shoulder injury as well.
Despite practising on Monday in London, the Belarusian decided to pull out of the tournament. This is the first time she is missing a Grand Slam due to an injury.
Sabalenka won her maiden Grand Slam in 2023 by lifting the Australia Open and since then, she emerged as one of the best and most consistent players in the tournaments as she reached the semi-final of the French Open and Wimbledon last year and the US Open final.
Meanwhile, she began this year defending her title in Melbourne by defeating China’s Qinwen Zheng in straight sets.
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