Injuries Plague Wimbledon as Tennis Stars Withdraw Before Tournament Begins

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka (Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports)

This edition of Wimbledon has started with some doubts on the part of many players. Novak Djokovic had just had knee surgery when he landed in London to begin training, with the question of whether he would finally play in the English tournament or not. The Serbian was clear about it, he would only play “to go far and fight for the title”, if he did not feel ready for it he would withdraw from the competition. Finally Wimbledon was able to count on him to be present and this Tuesday he already recorded his first victory. However, there were others who decided to withdraw from the tournament due to discomfort, among them the number three in the WTA ranking: Aryna Sabalenka.

The Belarusian tennis player did not even set foot on the Wimbledon grass due to her right shoulder injury. She was one of the favourites to win the title and now leaves the path clear for Coco Gauff or Iga Swiatek. It was shortly before the time at which she was to play her debut in the tournament against the American Emina Bektas, when she announced that she was withdrawing from the competition.

She did the same via social media and sent a message to all fans: “It pains me to the core to tell you that I won’t be able to play at Wimbledon this year. I’ve tried everything to be prepared, but unfortunately my shoulder hasn’t helped. I’ve pushed myself to the limit in training today to give my best, but my team told me that if I played, I could only make things worse. This tournament means a lot to me and I promise to come back stronger than ever next year.” However, this isn’t the only star who is saying goodbye to the competition before it even starts.

Andy Murray is the other major absentee at the English tournament. The tennis player waited until the day of his debut, like the Belarusian, to share the news due to a back injury that he underwent surgery on June 22. “Unfortunately, despite all the work he has done in his recovery, Andy has made the difficult decision not to play the singles tournament. As you can imagine, he is very disappointed, but he has confirmed that he will play the doubles tournament with Jamie and hopes to be able to compete at Wimbledon one last time,” Murray’s team announced in a statement.

They are joined by the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich, who announced on Sunday that he would not compete in Wimbledon this year due to a back injury. On Monday, another Spaniard joined the absentees: Pablo Carreño. The Gijon native was forced to withdraw from his place in the English tournament due to a muscle problem in his leg. However, these were not the only ones who have said goodbye to the competition before it even started.

Moutet Corentin, for the men’s draw, Cocciaretto Elisabetta, Alexandrova Ekaterina and Azarenka Victoria, for the women’s draw, were the only players who were absent from the first round in just two days. As many as eight players have said goodbye to the English tournament before playing their first match in the competition. A strange situation for one of the most renowned tournaments on the entire circuit.

2024-07-02 20:25:00
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