Australian Open: Victoria Azarenka cancels participation

The two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka will not use her wildcard and will not participate in the Australian Open (15. till 28. January) will take place. This was announced by tournament director Craig Tiley on Monday.

Azarenka, who has been pausing for about seven months due to a custody battle over her son Leo, received a wildcard in mid-December to take part in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Due to her private problems, the Belarussian had to lose a few weeks ago in Minsk to play in the final of the Fed Cup. Without Azarenka, the hosts lost 3-2 to the USA.

“Unfortunately, Vika can’t come to Australia this year,”Tiley wrote on Twitter:”The Australian Open are her favorite tournament and she is looking forward to returning to Melbourne next year,” and the vacancy in Melbourne’s main field will go to Ajla Tomljanovic, the injured Croatian who has been living in Australia for years.

Azarenka had triumphed in Australia in 2012 and 2013. The former world number one has been missing from the Wimbledon tour since her elimination in the last sixteen of Wimbledon and has slipped to 210th place in the WTA ranking. Victoria Azarenka played her last professional tennis match in Wimbledon. There she was defeated in two sets in the second round of Simona Halep. Azarenka made her comeback after the baby break at the lawn tournament in Mallorca.

The 28-year-old had to cancel her participation in the US Open in New York in August because her son was not allowed to leave California due to the pending proceedings. Azarenka’s ex-boyfriend Billy McKeague, father of the joint child, had filed a custody petition with a court in Los Angeles after his separation in July 2017.