WASHINGTON: Two-time reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka returns to competition this week at the WTA Washington Open after a month-long absence with a shoulder injury.
And the world number three expects to be just as well prepared as her rivals for the US Open on August 26 at the Olympic Games in Paris.
“It's still a long way to the US Open. I think they'll be ready,” Sabalenka said. “They'll probably just take a break. They won't play whatever.”
“In the end, it was very important for me to take a little break. I had really serious problems from March onwards. This was urgently needed. Mentally, I feel fresher and more ready to go. I will be ready.”
Sabalenka reached the semifinals of the US Open in 2021 and 2022 and reached the final in New York last year, where she lost to American Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka, seeded number one in Washington, was unable to compete in the Olympics because her home country of Belarus was banned from sending athletes to Paris because of its support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sabalenka wants to return to the competition field after lengthy rehabilitation work on her right shoulder.
“I'm here because I'm injured and I haven't played for a while,” Sabalenka said. “I felt like I need to rebuild my confidence and rebuild my level before going to the US Open. So I need to play some matches and that's why I'm here.”
Sabalenka, who last played in Washington in 2017, suffered a shoulder injury in Berlin last month and was forced to withdraw from a quarterfinal match.
She later withdrew from Wimbledon, where she had reached the semifinals in her previous two appearances.
“It was a very difficult decision because I never withdrew from the tournament because of the injury,” she said. “Even though I was injured, I still played. I still had problems, but I was able to play. This was my first experience of this kind.”
“But I decided to take care of my health, do proper rehab and come back stronger. So the recovery was very hard because I did two weeks of rehab, so a lot of exercises, a lot of treatments, a lot of recovery material.”
Sabalenka, 26, stayed off the court for a week and a half to concentrate on her fitness.
“It felt like I had been exercising all day,” she said. “It feels like it's time to wind down, but you're still exercising, still doing something. It was very hard.”
Sabalenka trained in hot and humid Florida, which made similar conditions in the US capital a little easier.
“I feel like I’m physically well prepared for Florida,” she said.
“Hopefully I will never have to suffer from this injury again and can play in the next Grand Slam, my favorite tournament. I really want to do well there.”
