‘Heartbroken’ Aryna Sabalenka withdraws from Wimbledon

LONDON – The women’s Wimbledon draw provided a shock just as action got under way, as third seed Aryna Sabalenka pulled out of her opening match due to a shoulder injury, organisers said.

The 26-year-old Belarusian, who was set to face American Emina Bektas, was replaced in the draw by Russian lucky loser Erika Andreeva.

“Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won’t be able to play The Championships this year. 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. 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 in 2024 and struggled with illness at the French Open during her quarter-final loss to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, suffered the issue during June’s Berlin Open. The Australian Open champion said on June 29 that she was still not 100 per cent heading into the year’s third Grand Slam.

Since claiming her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2023, Sabalenka has established herself as one of the most consistent players in major tournaments. She reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2023, as well as the US Open final, and started 2024 by defending her Melbourne crown.

She is one of seven players to have pulled out of Wimbledon since the draw was made on June 28.

Her withdrawal leaves no obvious dominant force on grass courts in the draw and paves the way for “anyone to win”, said Maria Sakkari, who made short work of American qualifier McCartney Kessler 6-3, 6-1 in little over an hour to begin her quest to finally make her mark at the tournament.

“From my side, it’s wide open. So anyone can win. Going into the tournament, I could name like 20 or 25 girls that could win the tournament right now. The depth of women’s tennis is just very good right now, and everyone is playing good,” the Greek world No. 9 said.

Amongst them may be 14th seed Daria Kasatkina, who cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Zhang Shuai – backing up predictions that the Eastbourne champion can make an impact in the Wimbledon fortnight.

Over in the men’s draw, fifth seed Daniil Medvedev strode into the Wimbledon second round with an assured 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over American Aleksandar Kovacevic on his favourite Court One.

“I’ve still never lost on Court One. So, hopefully, I can play a lot more matches on this court. Last year, I said it was unfortunate I had to go to Centre Court for the semis and I lost. So for the moment, I want to play on Court One, enjoy and try to win,” said Medvedev.

The 28-year-old Russian, beaten in the 2023 semi-finals by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz, took one hour 46 minutes to dispose of the 88th-ranked New Yorker, who could not cope with his booming serve and whipped forehand.

Medvedev, chasing a second Grand Slam title after his 2021 US Open triumph, fired 16 aces on his way to victory over the 25-year-old Kovacevic. He will take on either Alexandre Muller or Hugo Gaston for a place in the last 32.

He won the first set at a canter after breaking the New Kovacevic’s first service game, took the second with a pair of aces after breaking in the seventh and ran away with the third, clinching it on this third match point with another ace.

Joining him in the next round is Casper Ruud, who made a fast start at the London Major with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, 6-4 victory over qualifier Alex Bolt in two hours and 13 minutes on the All England Club’s No. 3 Court.

“I feel good. It’s nice to stand here as the winner of the match... It’s great to be back at Wimbledon, and every win I can get here is good for my confidence and my career,” said the Norwegian eighth seed, who will next face Italian Fabio Fognini.

Former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 against Serbia’ Dusan Lajovic to set a second-round clash against Shang Juncheng. REUTERS, AFP