The Belarusian received medical treatment for her shoulder problems in the first set but was unable to continue. At 1-5 in the first set, she went to the net and thanked the 24th-ranked Russian opponent on the grass.
Time is short until Wimbledon, which begins on July 1.
The tournament in Berlin has suffered from long rain breaks and has fallen behind schedule.
Just a couple of days ago, Sabalenka, who won the last two editions of the Australian Open, announced that she was skipping the Olympics in Paris after her body felt tired and that she needed to rest before the autumn hard court tournaments with the US Open in August/September as the highlight.