Tennis-Sabalenka and Azarenka out of Wimbledon with shoulder injuries

By Shrivathsa Sridhar

LONDON (Reuters) - Third seed Aryna Sabalenka and 16th seed Victoria Azarenka pulled out of Wimbledon shortly before their opening matches on Monday due to shoulder injuries, organisers said, leaving the women's draw short of a pair of Grand Slam champions.

Sabalenka, who was set to face American Emina Bektas, was replaced in the draw by Russian Erika Andreeva, while fellow Belarusian Azarenka's spot was taken up by another lucky loser in Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot.

"I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating," Sabalenka said on Instagram.

"I pushed myself to the limit in practice today to try my best, but my team explained that playing would only make things much worse," she added.

"This tournament means so much to me and I promise I'll be back stronger than ever next year."

Sabalenka, who suffered a lower back injury this year and struggled with illness at the French Open during her quarter-final loss to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, sustained the issue during last month's Berlin Open.

The Australian Open champion said on Saturday that she was still not 100% heading into the year's third Grand Slam.

Since claiming her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2023, the 26-year-old Sabalenka has established herself as one of the most consistent players in major tournaments.

She reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon last year, as well as the U.S. Open final, and started 2024 by defending her Melbourne crown.

Azarenka, winner of the Australian Open in 2012 and 2013, had been set to take on Sloane Stephens.

Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova had earlier pulled out before her clash with Emma Raducanu due to illness.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar; Editing by Ed Osmond and Alison Williams)