LONDON, July 1. /TASS/. The No. 3 women’s tennis player in the world Arina Sobolenko of Belarus announced on Monday that she will withdraw from Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury, the press office of the prestigious Grand Slam tournament reported.

Sobolenko was set to face in the opening round of the tournament Emina Bektas of the United States. The Belarusian player will be replaced by Russia’s Erika Andreyeva.

"Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won’t be able to play in The Championships this year," Sobolenko wrote on her Instagram account (outlawed in Russia as belonging to the Meta corporation, which has been recognized as extremist).

"I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating," she continued. "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. This tournament means so much to me and I promise I’ll be back stronger than ever next year."

Sobolenko, 26, is currently ranked 3rd in the WTA (Women Tennis Association) Rankings. The 2024 Wimbledon favorite has 14 WTA titles under her belt in women’s singles in addition to winning the 2023 and 2024 Australian Open tournaments. She was also the runner-up at the 2023 US Open and got to the semifinals of the 2023 French Open and Wimbledon.

The Wimbledon tournament, the most prestigious out of the four Grand Slam tournaments, has been held annually in London since 1877. This year’s Wimbledon runs between July 1 and 14 and offers $63 million in prize money. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic are the reigning Wibledon champions in men’s and women’s singles respectively.