Aryna Sabalenka WITHDRAWS from Wimbledon hours before her first match due to a shoulder injury… with the older sister of teen star Mirra Andreeva stepping up in her place
- Sabalenka had previously hinted at a problem before the start of the tournament
- The world number 3 wanted to extend her Grand Slam performance after winning the Australian Open
- Erika Andreeva will take her place after losing to Britain’s Sonya Kartal in qualifying
World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from Wimbledon hours before her first match due to a shoulder injury.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 teen sensation Mirra Andreeva, who also starts her Wimbledon campaign on Monday afternoon.
Sabalenka had previously discussed her fears that she would not reach her first-round tie against US’s Emina Bektas on Saturday, stating she was not “100 percent fit” due to a problem that very few players have experienced.
“We are doing everything with my team to make sure I can play my first match here,” Sabalenka had shared. “But no, I am not 100% ready.”
“It’s teres major. I just call it a shoulder injury. It’s a really specific injury, and it’s really rare. I’m probably only the second or third tennis player to injure that muscle.
Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from Wimbledon after failing to overcome her shoulder injury
The world number 3 previously expressed her frustration at being able to do almost everything in her game
‘The most annoying thing is that I can do everything. I can practice, I can hit my groundstrokes. I have trouble serving. That’s really annoying.
‘You don’t feel that you are injured. If you give me some weights, I’ll lift some weights. But if you tell me to serve, I go through the pain. We did an MRI, we did everything. We did a lot of rehab, a lot of treatments and everything.”
On Monday morning, Sabalenka was still trying to take first place at the Court tournament. Last weekend, she had said she was “still hopeful” after “fighting through a lot of pain over the past few months.”
Erika Andreeva – the older sister of the placed Mirra – steps into Sabalenka’s house on Monday
But just after noon, Sabalenka is said to have promptly left her practice field, and the 26-year-old withdrew from the competition a few minutes later.
Andreeva Snr was earlier knocked out of the qualifying matches by British hopeful Sonya Kartal, who plays No. 29 seed Sorana Cirstea on Monday afternoon, but now has the chance to boost her Grand Slam credentials.
The 20-year-old has never played in the main draw at Wimbledon before, but will make her debut on the tournament’s second show court against world number 107 Bektas.