Victoria Azarenka to Take Break From Tennis Ahead of BNP Paribas Open

Victoria Azarenka is in an exclusive club of women’s tennis players to have won the BNP Paribas Open twice. Unfortunately, she will not be playing in this year’s WTA Premier event ash she withdrew from the tournament. The two-time champion at the event did not give a reason for her exit as of yet.

Victoria Azarenka and her woes continue

Victoria Azarenka is suffering in her professional and personal life. Her personal issues resulted in Azarenka not playing in the Australian swing of the season. In fact, she played her first tournament of the year at Monterrey Open a couple of days back. Victoria lost in the very first round, going down 6-2, 6-2 to Tamara Zidanšek.

It marked her first tournament since the 2019 US Open, where she had lost in the first round as well. However, her personal issues have certainly been quite taxing on her mentally. A custody battle is never easy for a parent, and to balance it with a professional tennis career is hardly child’s play.

The current WTA World No. 56 did not give a reason for her withdrawal yet. Vera Zvonereva will replace Azarenka at the event. Both players were once on top of the sport, with Azarenka’s career-best ranking of World No. 1 and Vera’s World No. 2.

Victoria Azarenka won the Indian Wells event back in 2012 and 2016, defeating Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams respectively, in the finals. It remains to be seen if the former champion is once again dealing with personal matters, or if she is looking to regain match fitness. Let’s just hope it has nothing to do with injuries.

Zvonereva, similar to Azarenka, is struggling to regain her former glory in the sport. The Russian reached her career-high rank of World No. 2 in 2010. She maintained her place in the top-10 until 2012. She started to tumble down the rankings due to a combination of shoulder injury and a respiratory problem, forcing her to miss or retire from major tournaments.