"Loyal": Aryna Sabalenka shares reason behind not taking part in US Open mixed doubles event this year

Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka has confirmed that she has officially withdrawn from the mixed doubles event at the US Open. This year, the fourth and the final Grand Slam, for the first time, will be played in two separate parts.

In the first phase, a mixed doubles competition comprising 16 teams will be played over the course of three days as a standalone event. The winning team will get a whopping prize money of $1 million. In the second phase, the men’s and women’s singles and doubles events will officially get underway from August 24.

In the mixed doubles category, out of the 16 teams, eight will qualify for the main event directly based on the players singles ranking whereas the other eight will qualify for the competition after being awarded a wildcard entry. On July 29th, the US Open official handle on X posted a picture of 14 out of the 16 teams that will feature in the competition.

The list featured all eight teams that will directly qualify for the mega-events and six teams that have been awarded a wildcard entry. One of the teams that was missing from the list was that of the women’s world number one, Aryna Sabalenka, who was set to partner with Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov.

The team’s participation in the competition was uncertain from the moment Dimitrov suffered a heartbreaking injury in the fourth round contest at Wimbledon against world number one Jannik Sinner. Dimitrov was in complete control during the match after winning the first two sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5 and was serving to make it 2-2. However, all his efforts went in vein as he had failed to conclude the match and in result, Sinner managed to qualify for the quarterfinal. The result turned out to be a lucky charm for Sinner who went on to lift the Wimbledon title for the first time in his career after beating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Dimitrov, after suffering a pectoral muscle injury, posted a statement on his Instagram account with a picture of him in a hospital bed, explaining his desire to return to the court sooner rather than later.

“Sometimes the heart wants to keep going… but the universe has a different plan for us,” wrote Dimitrov. “Having to withdraw from this match at Wimbledon was one of the most painful moments of my career. Thank you for the overwhelming wave of love — from family, friends, fans, colleagues, to the entire tennis community… your messages have genuinely lifted me through these hard times. Thank you all. Truly. Recovery starts now. I’ll see you all soon. G.”

Two days ago on August 12, ESPN reported that Dimitrov has now been ruled out from the US Open as well after failing to recover in time from the injury her suffered during Wimbledon. After all of that development, it was expected that Sabalenka might decide to play in the doubles event with some other player. However, Sabalenka has now confirmed that she will not take part in the tournament.

Sabalenka, who is currently taking part in the ongoing Cincinnati Open where she has already booked her spot in the quarterfinal after beating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 7-5, while speaking to the media after the match, confirmed that she will not be taking part in the event despite being asked by some guys. “Well there is a few guys who are asking, but, no, I don’t think so,” said Sabalenka. When asked what the reason was for her decision, Sabalenka had a one-word answer: “loyal”. Sabalenka will next face Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinal of the ongoing WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati.