Aryna Sabalenka retires from a match for first time in her career in Berlin

One of the more impressive, if unheralded, streaks on the WTA tour came to an end on Saturday in Berlin as Aryna Sabalenka retired from a tour-level match for the first time in her professional career.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed at the grass-court ecotrans Ladies Open, was trailing Anna Kalinskaya in the first set of their quarterfinal match 5-1 when she called it quits due to a shoulder injury. The quarterfinal had been inititally scheduled for Friday before it was postponed a day due to rain.

Sabalenka played her first professional match in 2014 on the ITF circuit, and began playing excusively at WTA level in 2018.

"I always do my best to fight to the end," the two-time defending Australian Open champion said earlier this month at Roland Garros, where she battled through a stomach bug in a three-set quarterfinal loss to Mirra Andreeva.

She told reporters she never considered retiring from that match in Paris, despite playing in visible distress.

The events in Berlin came days after Sabalenka told reporters that she would not compete at the Paris Olympics due to scheduling concerns and to prioritize her health. She alluded to "struggles" that have plagued her in recent months as a factor in her decision, but did not elaborate at the time.

"I feel I have to take care of my health," she said. "I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I'm ready for the hard courts, and I'll have a good preparation before going to the hard court season. I feel that this is safer and better for my body."

Three of the four quarterfinals were ultimately decided by retirements. On Friday, Victoria Azarenka was leading Elena Rybakina 3-1 in the first set before Rybakina retired due to abdominal pain, and after losing a titanic first set to Coco Gauff on Saturday 7-6(9), Ons Jabeur pulled the plug due to illness. Earlier in the week, reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova slipped and fell on the grass-court surface and retired due to a hip injury, also against Kalinskaya.

Gauff and Kalinskaya will each play again on Saturday as the semifinals.