‘I’ll miss my amazing Canadian fans’ — Aryna Sabalenka skips Montreal Open after Wimbledon heartbreak, citing fatigue

According to a statement by Tennis Canada, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the WTA Canadian Open, citing fatigue. This season, the 27-year-old top-ranked athlete claimed the championship titles in Madrid and Miami. She also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and Berlin and was runner-up at both the Australian Open and French Open. 

With this news, Sabalenka admitted: “I’m looking forward to kicking off the North American hard-court swing, but to give myself the best chance for success this season, I’ve decided it’s in my best interest to skip Montreal.” 

She added: “I’ll miss my amazing Canadian fans, but I’m already looking forward to seeing you all next year… Thanks for your understanding and support. It means the world to me.” 

Tournament director Valerie Tetreault said they were disappointed that Aryna Sabalenka would not be participating in this year’s event.

Other than Sabalenka, Paula Badosa of Spain, who is ranked 10th in the world, also pulled out of the tournament due to injury. The athletes’ withdrawal gave opportunities for Caty McNally from the United States and Moyuka Uchijima from Japan to enter the main draw.

Meanwhile, Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard announced she will retire from professional tennis after playing at the WTA event in Montreal–her hometown. The 31-year-old athlete once ranked World No. 5. Her best playing year was 2014, when she had best results at each of the Grand Slam tournaments–she reached the Wimbledon final and made it to the semifinals at both the Australian Open and the French Open. She advanced to the fourth round of the US Open as well. 

Sabalenka’s 2025 Wimbledon loss 

At the recently concluded Wimbledon tournament, Aryna Sabalenka admitted that she was disappointed after being defeated 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 by Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam where the top-ranked athlete hasn’t reached the final. In the past five years, she has lost in the semifinals three times. With this, Sabalenka stated that losing feels like she “doesn’t want to exist any more.”

The athlete said: “Losing sucks… You always feel like you want to die, you don’t want to exist any more, and this is the end of your life… Every time you compete at that tournament, and you get to the last stages, you think you’re getting close to your dream. Then you lose the match, and you feel like, ‘okay, this is the end.’” 

Read more about Aryna Sabalenka’s 2025 Wimbledon defeat here.