Aryna Sabalenka retires from Stuttgart Tennis…- TheConclaveNg

The Stuttgart Tennis Grand Prix in Germany will begin on Monday without the world’s best player. Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the WTA 500 tournament on Thursday, two steps shy of a Grand Slam, citing an unspecified injury sustained after winning the Miami Open late last month.

“I am very sad to say that I will not be able to play in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix this year,” Sabalenka announced on social media.

“I always love coming back to Stuttgart. The atmosphere, the fans and the support I feel are so special to me. And, of course, I was really hoping to have another chance to fight for that Porsche.

“Unfortunately I had an injury after Miami and, although I tried everything to recover in time, I am not ready to compete.

“I’m really sorry to miss this fantastic tournament. I wish everyone a fantastic week in Stuttgart and hope to see you again very soon.”

Stuttgart marks the third tournament Sabalenka will miss this season – although the first she has directly attributed to injury – after missing the Qatar Open, which began in February, eight days after her loss in the Australian Open final, and withdrawing from the Dubai Tennis Championships at the end of the month, saying in a statement that she was “not feeling 100%.”

Both were mandatory WTA 1000 events, meaning Sabalenka accepted the ranking points and financial penalties that come with missing an event of that size

Sabalenka has won the three tournaments she has played this year outside of the Australian Open. In Melbourne, she lost the championship match to Elena Rybakina. During her title run at the Brisbane International in January, Sabalenka discussed how difficult it is to balance the demands of the WTA schedule with maximizing performance.

“The season is definitely crazy, and that’s not good for all of us, as you see so many players getting injured and the balls are quite heavy too. It’s a lot of work for all of us,” the 27-year-old said in a press conference.

“Even though the results were really consistent, in some tournaments I played I was completely tired or I was really exhausted from playing too much.”

High-level players like Sabalenka are scheduled to play in the four Grand Slams, 10 WTA 1000 tournaments and six WTA 500 tournaments during the season. But both Sabalenka and world No. 3 Iga Świątek, who skipped Dubai this year, said the intense schedule can come at the expense of players’ health.

The WTA Tour says player health is a priority and has set up a council with the aim of making changes by 2027.

Her decision to skip Dubai drew criticism from the event’s tournament director, Salah Tahlak, who called Sabalenka and Świątek’s reasons for withdrawing “a bit strange” in an interview with The National. Tahlak called for harsher sanctions than fines for players who miss tournaments, including deducted ranking points.

In response, Sabalenka said she wasn’t sure if she would ever return to the tournament.

Related