Belarusian world number 14 and Acapulco top seed Victoria Azarenka has withdrawn from the Abierto Mexicana Telcel with a left wrist injury. Azarenka was due to play Dominika Cibulkova in the second round, but pulled out hours before the match with the injury. Cibulkova will next play Johanna Larsson in the quarterfinals.
Azarenka's Opening Round Match
In the opening round, the two time Grand Slam champion fought past Slovak Polana Hercog 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in two hours. Azarenka looked no where near her best, struggling for much of the match. The Belarusian had not hit with her left wrist all week in practice before the match against Hercog. Azarenka was advised that if she kept playing with her wrist injury, that she would only cause more damage.
Azarenka's Injury Struggles
Azarenka has struggled mightily with injuries over the past two years, missing numerous tournaments and seeing her world ranking fall as well. After failing to defend her Australian Open title in 2014, Azarenka contracted a foot injury that kept her out until Indian Wells. There, she lost in her opening match. After the early loss in Indian Wells, the Belarusian did not play again until the grass court season. She made her return in Eastbourne, again losing in the opening round. Azarenka was dealt numerous other injuries in 2014, along with her highly publicized breakup with singer Redfoo. All of that caused her to miss Cincinnati and all of the Asian swing to end an injury plagued year.
2015 was much of the same for Azarenka, struggling with very bad draws and inconsistency in her results. The Belarusian made the fourth round at the Australian Open in 2015, before losing out to Cibulkova. She then went on to make the finals in Doha, again losing deep in the tournament. Azarenka often made it deep in tournaments, but also fell short many times. The Belarusian ended a disappointing 2015 after an early loss in Wuhan.
Azarenka's Promising Australian Swing
After an extremely difficult past two years, the Belarusian finally seemed to be back in form with her win in Brisbane to begin the season. Azarenka did not drop a set in Brisbane, demolishing Angelique Kerber in the final. It was her biggest title in a long time. At the Australian Open, where she is a two-time champion, Azarenka cruised through the first four rounds. She then came up against Kerber again, this time in the quarterfinals. Kerber played one of the best matches of her career to get her first win against Azarenka, giving the Belarusian another disappointing loss. Azarenka is scheduled to play in Indian Wells and then Miami next month.