Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from the Madrid Open after injuring her back during her first match against Laura Robson.
The Belorussian entered the tournament full of confidence after claiming back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. Speaking about her withdrawal, the world No.5 said that she said that she was in ‘discomfort’ during her second round match and the pain has since failed to improve.
“Unfortunately in my first match I think I tweaked my back a little bit. It was really cold and I think it’s much easier to get a little bit hurt when it’s that cold,” Azarenka said about the problem.
The exact location of the injury is on Azarenka’s lower back. The 26-year-old remained puzzled about exactly how she sustained the back issue. One theory is that she moved the wrong way on the court in the cold conditions. The severity of the issue isn’t thought to be substantial, however, her participation in next week’s Rome Open is now uncertain.
“I’m going to See how it goes. I’m going to take it day by day and make sure my body is ready,” she said about participating in Rome.
“My plan is to be ready for Rome, so hopefully I’ll be able to do that.” she added.
The withdrawal has ended Azarenka’s run of sixteen consecutive wins on the tour. The issue comes at the times where she was becoming a growing favorite to win in Madrid in light of the series of seeded players exiting the tournament. Nevertheless, the former world No.1 is refusing to be downbeat about the setback.
“I’m not going to sit here and beat myself that I got hurt. It’s just sports. I just need to stay positive and make sure that I do everything right to be able to move forward,” Azarenka optimistically said.
The next step for Azarenka will be tests on her back to check if there is any serious damage. Hoping to conduct the tests later today, Azarenka will then start her rehabilitation process.
The withdrawal sends American qualifier Louisa Chirico to the last eight of the tournament where she will play Petra Kvitova’s conqueror Daria Gavrilova.
