WASHINGTON (AFP) — Two-time reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka returns to competition at this week’s WTA Washington Open after taking a month off due to a shoulder injury.

And the world No. 3 is counting on being as ready as her rivals now playing in the Paris Olympics when the US Open begins on 26 August.

“It’s still way to go to the US Open. I feel like they are going to be ready,” Sabalenka said.

“Probably, they’ll just take a break. They’re not going to play whatever.”

“In the end it was very important for me to take a little break. I had really tough struggles starting from March. It was much needed. Mentally, I feel more fresh and more ready to go. I’ll be ready.”

Sabalenka reached the US Open semifinals in 2021 and 2022 and last year advanced to the New York final, where she lost to American Coco Gauff.

Washington top seed Sabalenka was not able to compete at the Olympics because her homeland of Belarus was banned from sending athletes to Paris over support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Sabalenka wants to get back on the court for competition after lengthy rehabilitation work on her right shoulder.

“I’m here because I got injured and I haven’t played for a while,” Sabalenka said.

“I felt like I needed to build my confidence back and build my level back before going to the US Open. So I need to play some matches and that’s why I’m here.”

Sabalenka, who last played in Washington in 2017, suffered her shoulder injury last month at Berlin, forcing her to retire from a quarterfinal match.

She later withdrew from Wimbledon, where she had made the semifinals in her two prior appearances.

“That was a very tough decision because I never pulled out from the tournament because of the injury,” she said.

“Even if I was injured, I was still playing. I was still struggling, but being able to play. It was my first experience like that.”