Aryna Sabalenka withdraws from Wimbledon with shoulder injury

Third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from Wimbledon on Monday because of an injured shoulder.

The two-time Australian Open champion was supposed to play Emina Bektas of the United States in the first round on Day 1 at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.

"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 quarterfinal loss to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva , sustained the injury during last month's Berlin Open.

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

Sabalenka was replaced in the draw by Erika Andreeva , who lost in qualifying last week.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report .