Belarusian Azarenka Withdraws From Canadian Open Due To Visa Not Being Approved

Sunday, 07 August 2022 at 20:30

Updated at Thursday, 14 November 2024 at 17:31

Azarenka Victoria USOpen2022 MartinSidorjak

byJordan Reynolds

Victoria Azarenka announced that she was forced to withdraw from the Canadian Open in Toronto because her visa had not been approved.

Azarenka is one of the best players of her generation. She has won two Australian Open titles and finished as the runner-up at the US Open on three occasions. Her most recent US Open final loss was to Naomi Osaka in 2020.

Although the 33-year-old is past her prime, she continues to perform solidly on the WTA Tour. Azarenka has gotten past the first round at nine of her ten tournaments this year, only failing to at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

However, Azarenka could not play at this year's Wimbledon Championships because of the tournament's ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, a decision taken due to Russia's ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine.

The Belarusian government supports Russia, meaning athletes from the country paid for that. Unfortunately for Azarenka, she will also miss the Canadian Open because of visa issues.

Azarenka announced the disappointing news on social media. She expressed her disappointment about missing one of her favorite tournaments at a location where she has made many friends.

"Hello everyone! I wanted to inform you that I, unfortunately, have to withdraw from the tournament in Toronto due to my visa not being approved. Its truly disappointing. Its very sad to miss one of my favourite tournaments," she added. "I love to play in Canada with great fans and a place where I made many friends over the years. Good luck to everyone at the event. See you in Cincinnati!"

The two-time Australian Open champion did not specify why the visa was not approved. It is unclear whether Azarenka's Belarusian nationality played a role.

The veteran usually thrives at this time of the season and will hope to hit the ground running at the following week's Cincinnati Open to gain ideal preparation before the US Open.