Aryna Sabalenka skips press conference due to illness after heartbreaking French Open 2024 QF defeat to Mirra Andreeva

Aryna Sabalenka skipped the post-match press conference after losing to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals of the French Open 2024 women’s singles. On Wednesday, June 5, the Belarusian player lost to Andreeva 7-6(7-5), 4-6, 4-6 at Philippe-Chatrier in a game that lasted two hours and 29 minutes, and crashed out of the clay-court major.

The 26-year-old Sabalenka faced issues with her health during the match and seemed in a lot of discomfort. But instead of throwing in the towel and retiring midway, she showed agility and played until the very end. However, given her indifferent health conditions, she decided to skip the press conference after the match.

Journalist and tennis commentator Jose Morgado shared the update on Sabalenka. He also said that Sabalenka’s post-match comments would be made public on Thursday by the WTA team.

“Aryna Sabalenka is unable to attend her post-match press conference tonight due to illness and is with the tournament medical team. WTA communications staff will provide quotes from Aryna which will be transcribed and uploaded to RG media this evening,” Morgado wrote.

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Aryna Sabalenka’s journey in French Open 2024

Sabalenka came into the French Open after finishing as the runner-up in Rome and Madrid. Both times, she lost to World No.1 Iga Swiatek in the final. Although she could not win the titles, Sabalenka was one of the strong contenders to win in Paris.

She cruised past Erika Andreeva before taking down Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the second round. Thereafter, Sabalenka defeated her best friend Paula Badosa in the third round. In the fourth round, she got the better of USA’s Emma Navarro, whose defeat confirmed Madison Keys and Danielle Collins' berths in the Paris Olympics.

En route to wins in her first four matches at the Roland Garros, she did not drop a single set and hence, was the outright favourite to beat Mirra Andreeva as well. However, she ran out of energy after her health on the court deteriorated during the match.

Additionaly, Sabalenka dropped one place down to No.3 in the WTA rankings after losing to Andreeva. 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff, who will lock horns with Swiatek in the semi-final on Thursday, became the new World No. 2.

As far as Andreeva is concerned, she will now be up against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, who knocked out fourth seed Elena Rybakina out of the competition. She also became the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist since Martina Hingis back in 1997.