WASHINGTON: Two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka returns to competition at this week's WTA Washington Open after taking a month off due to a shoulder injury.
And the world number three is aiming to be as ready as her rivals who are now playing at the Paris Olympics when the US Open starts on August 26.
“There is still a way to go at the US Open. I feel like they will be ready,” Sabalenka said. “They'll probably just take a break. They won't play anything.
“In the end it was very important for me to take a little break. I have had very hard fights since March. It was very much needed. Mentally, I feel fresher and ready to go. I'll be ready.”
Sabalenka reached the semi-finals of the US Open in 2021 and 2022 and last year advanced to the final in New York, where she lost to American Coco Gauff.
Sabalenka, seeded in Washington, was unable to compete in the Olympics because her native Belarus was barred from sending athletes to Paris because of its support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Sabalenka wants to return to the field for competition after a long rehabilitation work on her right shoulder.
“I'm here because I got injured and haven't played in a while,” Sabalenka said. “I felt I needed to get my confidence back and level up before going to the US Open. So I have to play some games and that's why I'm here.”
Sabalenka, who last played in Washington in 2017, suffered a shoulder injury last month in Berlin, forcing her to withdraw from a quarterfinal match.
He subsequently withdrew from Wimbledon, where he reached the semi-finals in his previous two appearances.
“It was a really hard decision because I've never pulled out of a tournament because of injury,” she said. “Even if I was injured, I was still playing. I was still struggling, but I could play. It was my first experience like this.
“But I decided to take care of my health, do a proper rehab, come back stronger. So the recovery was really hard because for two weeks I did rehab, like a lot of exercise, a lot of treatments, a lot of recovery stuff.”
Sabalenka, 26, was sidelined for a week and a half to focus on fitness.
“It felt like I was exercising all day,” she said. “It seems like it's time to stop, but you're still training, you're still doing something. It was very hard.
Sabalenka trained in hot and humid Florida, somewhat easing the similar conditions in the US capital.
“I feel like I'm physically ready after Florida,” she said.
“Hopefully this injury will never bother me again and I will be able to play the next Grand Slam, which is my favourite. I really want to do well there.”
