Staff Reporter.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from the WTA 1,000 Canadian Open, which begins July 27 in Montreal.
Sabalenka cited fatigue following her semifinal run at Wimbledon as her reason for pulling out of the tournament, which is one rung below the Grand Slams.
“I’ll miss my amazing Canadian fans, but I’m already looking forward to seeing you all next year,” Sabalenka said. “Thanks for your understanding and support – it means the world to me.”
Sabalenka was upset in the Wimbledon semifinals after loosing to American Amanda Anisimova.
“We’re obviously disappointed that Aryna won’t be with us this year,” tournament director Valerie Tetreault said.
World number 10 Paula Badosa of Spain withdrew from the event due to injury. The two departures opened spots in the main draw for American Caty McNally and Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima.
Meanwhile former Wimbledon finalist Genie Bouchard will retire from tennis at the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Bouchard, 31, who lost to Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final in 2014 will play at her home tournament in Canada later this month before ending her career.
“You’ll know when it’s time. For me, it’s now,” Bouchard posted on social media, along with pictures of herself playing. “Ending where it all started: Montreal.”
Bouchard, who won the Wimbledon girls’ singles title in 2012, went on to reach the quarter-finals in Australia in 2015, but her career was never the same after she slipped on a wet locker room floor at the US Open later that year and suffered a concussion that forced her to withdraw before her fourth-round match.