Tennis-Sabalenka pulls out of Wimbledon due to shoulder injury

By Shrivathsa Sridhar

LONDON (Reuters) -Third seed Aryna Sabalenka pulled out of Wimbledon shortly before her opening match on Monday due to a shoulder injury, organisers said, leaving the women's draw short of a leading contender for the title.

The Belarusian, who was set to face American Emina Bektas, was replaced in the draw by Russian lucky loser Erika Andreeva.

"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, who suffered a lower back injury this year and struggled with illness at the French Open during her quarter-final loss to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, sustained the issue during last month's Berlin Open.

The Australian Open champion said on Saturday that she was still not 100% heading into the year's third Grand Slam.

Since claiming her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2023, the 26-year-old Sabalenka has established herself as one of the most consistent players in major tournaments.

She reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year, as well as the U.S. Open final, and started 2024 by defending her Melbourne crown.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar, editing by Ed Osmond)