Victoria Azarenka won't be playing at the 2024 Bad Homburg Open this week after coming down with an illness that forced her to withdraw from the WTA 500 event.
The Belarusian started her grass season at the Berlin Open last week, and it was a good start. She demonstrated once more why she was a very good grass player at her peak by making the semi-finals in the German capital.
It was a very competitive match against Anna Kalinskaya, but the Russian ultimately won in three sets. Despite the disappointment, Azarenka was content with her performance and hoped to continue it at the Bad Homburg Open.
Unfortunately, she won't be playing at the event due to an illness that struck her while she was playing in Berlin. The Belarusian announced the news on social media, confirming that she would be heading straight to London from Berlin to get ready for Wimbledon. She also apologized to her fans in Bad Homburg, hoping to see them next year.
"Hi Everyone! After this week in Berlin, I’ve decided to head straight to Wimbledon to prepare after coming down with an illness. I’m sorry to my fans in Bad Homburg, I look forward to hopefully seeing you next year! London, here we come."
Wimbledon has generally been a very good place for Azarenka, as she made a couple of deep runs at SW19 over the years. She never advanced past the semi-final, but won the bronze medal in 2012 when the Olympic Games were played at Wimbledon.
Last year was another solid showing, even though it only went as far as the fourth round, where Elina Svitolina bested her. She's hoping to have a similar run this year, as she's had a really strong year so far. She actually has more wins this year (24) than in all of last year (23).