Aryna Sabalenka retires losing 1-5 against Anna Kalinskaya due to a shoulder injury

Aryna Sabalenka will also skip Paris Olympics following a stomach bug.

Aryna Sabalenka retires losing 1-5 against Anna Kalinskaya due to a shoulder injury

Aryna Sabalenka (via IMAGO)

The Berlin Ladies Open has consistently been hampered by rain which has caused players to wait longer. Aryna Sabalenka was hoping to get past the discomfort after beating Daria Kasatkina in straight sets but was forced to retire during her quarterfinal match that was supposed to be played yesterday.

The Belarusian looked far from herself from the start of the match against Anna Kalinskaya. She had arrived in Berlin following a difficult clay season. She had lost back-to-back finals, in Madrid and Rome, before reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open. At the French Open, she suffered from a stomach bug that saw her in pain during her match against Mirra Andreeva making her lose in three sets.

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She got past second-round opponent Daria Kasatkina with ease and admitted she was hoping to put behind and clay season and enjoy the grass season. With only one title to celebrate this year, in the quarterfinal match against Kalinskaya in the first set she was down 1-5 already. She then called the physio with a discomfort in her shoulder and was wincing as the physio tested her.

She then walked to the net and shook hands with Kalinskaya. It was an awkward moment for the two-time Grand Slam champion but she wasn’t the first to retire. Elena Rybakina retired yesterday against Victoria Azarenka being 1-3. The Kazakhstan sat during the changeover and was seen holding her mouth before jugging inside and didn’t come out again. The officials then said she retired due to illness. Also, Marketa Vondrousova retired during her second-round match against Kalinskaya due to a leg injury.

Aryna Sabalenka to skip the Paris Olympics due to health reasons and a congested schedule

Recently, Aryna Sabalenka announced that she will not compete at the Paris Olympics. The Belarusian suffered a stomach bug at the French Open and played four consecutive tournaments during the clay season.

The Belarusian admitted that she’s struggling with health and is hoping to get in the best physical condition for the summer hard court season.

Aryna Sabalenka (via Imago)
Especially with all the struggles I've been struggling with the last months, I feel I have to take care of my health. It's too much for the scheduling and I made the decision to take care of my health. I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I'm ready for the hard courts.
Aryna Sabalenka said to the media

The summer hard court season begins with two back-to-back Masters 1000 tournaments, the Canada Open and the Cincinnati Open, leaving players with no room for rest, following their participation at the Paris Olympics.

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