Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from Wimbledon!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…
