LONDON: Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka said Saturday she is “not 100%” certain of playing her first round Wimbledon match due to a “really rare” shoulder injury.
Sabalenka, a two-time semi-finalist at the All England Club, had to quit her quarter-final match against Anna Kalinskaya in Berlin last week due to the problem.
“I´m not 100% fit now,” admitted the 26-year-old Belarusian who is due to face 106th-ranked Emina Bektas of the United States in the first round on Monday.
“We´re doing everything we can with my team to make sure I´ll be able to play my first match here. But, no, I´m not 100% ready.”
When asked if there was a chance she may withdraw on Monday, she said: “There is always a chance, yeah.”
Sabalenka said her doctors had told her that she was “just the second or the third tennis player who injured the (shoulder) muscle”. “It´s really a specific injury, and it´s really a rare one.”