The Belarussian star was visibly in distress as she was defeated 7-6, 4-6, 4-6 by her 17-year-old opponent, who became the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist since a 16-year-old Martina Hingis in 1997.
Sabalenka was due to conduct a post-match press conference and give her thoughts on the match, but a statement from the French Open was released confirming that she would not be speaking with the on-site press, explaining the decision was due to “medical reasons”.The statement in full read: “Aryna Sabalenka will be unable to attend her post-match press conference due to medical reasons and is currently with the tournament medical team.”