LONDON: Victoria Azarenka announced on Thursday she is withdrawing from next week’s Sony Open in Miami because of a foot injury.
The Belarussian has been plagued by a problem with her left foot for the past month but played through the pain. Now, however, she says she needs to take a break to get it healed.
“I love playing in the U.S. and my results in the past were also great. But it’s now been over a year that it seems bad luck has been following me,” she said in a statement released by the Women’s Tennis Association.
“I couldn’t play in Miami last year with a problem in my ankle and now this with my foot. It is time for me to think about my recovery and I will work hard for that.”
Azarenka’s foot problems flared up at the Australian Open in January, where she was attempting to win the title for the third year in a row.
She was beaten by Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter-finals and did not play again until this week’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she lost her opening match to Lauren Davis. (Reuters)
