After a dreamlike start to her season, Aryna Sabalenka has decided to rest for a while by pulling out of the Credit One Open in Charleston, citing a hamstring injury that she suffered during the 2023 Miami Open.
The World No. 2 finished second in the 2022 WTA Finals, losing to Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia. Sabalenka kicked off the year by winning her first 13 matches, including a title run at the Adelaide International 1 and her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023 Australian Open, where she downed Elena Rybakina in the final.
The Belarusian lost to Rybakina in the summit clash at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells earlier this month before going down to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Miami Open. During her second-round match against Shelby Rogers in Miami, Sabalenka felt discomfort in her left leg and requested a medical timeout.
Although she kept playing, the 24-year-old has withdrawn from the 50th edition of the WTA 500 Charleston Open, scheduled to be played from April 3-9 in South Carolina. Sabalenka took to social media on Thursday, March 30, to apologize to the tournament and fans, saying that she needed to give her leg some rest.
“Sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Charleston! I picked up an injury during one of my matches in Miami and I need time to rest and heal. I’m so sorry to the tournament and the fans. I was really looking forward to being back and playing in front of you all,” Aryna Sabalenka tweeted.
Aryna Sabalenka has won 20 matches this year while losing only three. With the clay season approaching, the second-ranked Belarusian is hoping to maintain her consistency by focusing on herself and blocking out external noise.
“The key would be just to focus on myself, don’t think about social media, don’t think about the people, expectations,” Aryna Sabalenka said. “Just focus on myself. Just do my thing, and I believe that if I’m going to play at the same level or even better, wins will come. I just have to keep working hard and keep moving forward.
“There were some tough lessons in the first part of the season. I’ll just learn, reset, and start working again from the beginning. I’ll do my best to make sure I bring my best tennis on the clay court season,” she added.
Her results on the red dirt last year were subpar as she crashed out of the Madrid Open in the first round, reached the semi-finals in Italy, and faced a third-round exit at the French Open.
