Victoria Azarenka said it was a ‘mistake’ to play at the Miami Open after swiftly retiring from her third round match on Sunday.
The world No.16 was taking on Czech teenage sensation Linda Fruhvirtova who is playing in the main draw of a WTA 1000 event for the first time at the age of 16. Azarenka appeared visibly frustrated on the court as she fell behind 2-6, 0-3, in just 47 minutes. Then she decided to call it quits. At the change of ends Azarenka was seen briefly speaking with the umpire which looked as if she was requesting to see a trainer. The official then called the score before the Belarussian shook her hand and walked off the court. Even though she was initially asked to stay.
Azarenka’s swift departure caught many off guard, including Fruhvirtova who is through to the fourth round on her debut. Following the match, the Miami Open issued a statement from the tennis star confirming that she didn’t complete that match due to ‘personal reasons.’
“I shouldn’t have gone on the court today. The last few weeks have been extremely stressful in my personal life,” Azarenka said. “The last match took so much out of me, but I wanted to play in front of a great audience as they helped me pull through my first match. I wanted to go out there and try but it was a mistake.’
“I hope to take a break and be able to come back.”
No details have been provided about what the nature of Azarenka’s issues are or how long she will be taking a break from the sport. There have been concerns about her in recent weeks from tennis fans after she broke down in tears during her third round match against Elina Rybakina at Indian Wells. Ahead of the tournament she said she was ‘devastated’ by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, it has not been confirmed that the ongoing crises in Eastern Europe are connected to the personal problems she is currently experiencing. She has also recently deactivated all of her social media accounts.
“I’m sorry to the fans for what happened as you were great to cheer for me,” she said of her latest match. “It was the only reason I decided to step on the court. I always look forward to the challenge and pressure of competition but today, it was too much.’
“I have to and will learn from this. I would like to congratulate my opponent and wish her best of luck in this tournament and beginning of her professional career.”
Azarenka is one of only four players in history to have won the Miami Open three or more times. The others are Venus Williams (3), Stefi Graf (5) and Serena Williams (8).
As for Fruhvirtova, she has become the first player under 17 years of age to reach the Miami fourth round since Maria Sharapova and Tatiana Golovin in 2004. She will play fifth seed Paula Badosa next.
