"It’s in my best interest": Aryna Sabalenka joins Paula Badosa in withdrawing from Montreal

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka won’t return to competition until August.

On Wednesday, the National Bank Open announced that the three-time major winner has withdrawn from Montreal due to fatigue.

“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,” a statement read.

Sabalenka is coming off a three-set semifinal defeat to Amanda Anisimova at Wimbledon. The 27-year-old has contested seven finals throughout 2025 so far, triumphing in Brisbane, Miami and Madrid.

“I think even though I lost a lot of finals, I lost tough matches at the slams this year, I still think that the consistency I was able to bring till this moment, it's impressive. Still a lot of things to be proud of,” Sabalenka said after seeing her bid at the All England Club ended. “This experience shows that next year I'm only hungrier and angrier. These tough defeats help me to come back much stronger.

“I have huge hopes for the next year.”

The Cincinnati Open, the second of consecutive 1000-level events staged ahead of the year's final major in New York, is Sabalenka’s presumed next event. The Belarusian denied Jessica Pegula in the 2024 final before winning their rematch with the US Open title on the line.

This season, Sabalenka has seen her quest to add Grand Slam hardware to her trophy cabinet halted by three different Americans—Madison Keys in the Australian Open final, Coco Gauff in the Roland Garros final and Anisimova. She leads Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek by more than 1400 points in the year-end race for No. 1 going into the upcoming stretch of hard-court events.

WTA Tour bestie Paula Badosa also pulled out of Montreal. The Spaniard revealed earlier this week that she suffered a tear in her psoas, the latest in a series of back problems that have plagued Badosa since 2023 Wimbledon.