Aryna Sabalenka has confirmed why she will not be participating in the upcoming event in Stuttgart, marking a huge blow for the tournament’s star-studded lineup.
The world number one was the leading figure in a stacked lineup heading to Germany, which also boasts names like Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek.
However, for reasons we have only just learnt, the Belarusian will not be present to compete at the event in which she reached the final last year.
Aryna Sabalenka took to Instagram to explain her withdrawal, offering an apology to the fans who will be sorely disappointed to go without her presence. Alas, the reasons behind this decision are irrefutable.
Aryna Sabalenka confirms injury after Miami Open
She began by announcing the news: “I’m very sad to say that I won’t be able to play the Porsche tennis Grand Prix this year.”
Clearly, this has been a tough decision for Sabalenka, as she outlined in her next comments: “I always love coming back to Stuttgart. The atmosphere, the fans, and the support I feel there are so special to me. And of course, I was really hoping to have another chance to fight for that Porsche.”
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She then explained why she will not be able to compete: “Unfortunately, I suffered an injury after Miami, and even though I tried everything to recover in time, I’m not ready to compete. I’m really sorry to miss this amazing tournament. Wishing everyone a great weekend out, and I hope to see you all again very soon. Love, Aryna.”
Given how desperate Sabalenka will want to banish her clay-court woes in 2026, this marks a disappointing start to the clay-court season.
Aryna Sabalenka surpasses Chris Evert despite Stuttgart withdrawal
The benefit of being such a dominant force, for Sabalenka, is the fact that she can withdraw from events like these without any real repercussions for her rankings.
She has consistently been the best player in the world for over two years now, and her reign over the WTA Tour rankings represents that perfectly.
The 27-year-old currently has 11,205 ranking points, over 3,000 more than Rybakina in second.
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As such, Sabalenka has actually just eclipsed a Chris Evert achievement, surpassing the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion in successive weeks as world number one.
Last week marked her 77th, moving her up to 11th on the all-time list. Although she does still have to overtake a longer Evert streak of 113 straight weeks if she is to eventually reach the top of that list, which sees Steffi Graf and Serena Williams tied with 186 weeks.
