Aryna Sabalenka withdraws from Canadian Open citing fatigue
'I'm looking forward to kicking off the North American hard-court swing, but to give myself the best chance for success this season, I've decided it's in my best interest to skip Montreal,' Sabalenka said in a statement announcing her withdrawal.
Sabalenka played the tournament last year, after missing the 2024 Paris Olympic tennis event which directly preceded it. She reached the quarterfinals, losing in three sets to Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. — the player who beat her in this year's Wimbledon semifinals.
That defeat took her Grand Slam record for 2025 to two finals and one semifinal, but no titles, having lost the Australian Open final to Madison Keys and the French Open final to Coco Gauff. She has reached seven finals in 2025, playing 56 matches in the year to date and winning three titles.
Anisimova, who lost 6-0, 6-0 to Iga Świątek in the Wimbledon final but rose to world No. 7 in the process, has herself withdrawn from the D.C. Open in Washington, D.C., which begins July 21.
Defending champion Paula Badosa has also withdrawn due to a persistent injury to her lower back, so the world No. 10 will drop 500 points from her ranking. Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, who had received a wild card into the main draw, has also been removed from the player list.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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