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Victoria Azarenka out of Stanford Classic with viral illness

By Harry Floyd

MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 02: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus plays a forehand against Alize Cornet of France in their second round match during day three of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 02, 2016 in Madrid,Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 02: Victoria Azarenka of Belarus plays a forehand against Alize Cornet of France in their second round match during day three of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament at the Caja Magica on May 02, 2016 in Madrid,Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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Victoria Azarenka announces her withdrawal from the Stanford Classic prior to the tournament. She cites a viral illness as her reason for missing the WTA event.

Victoria Azarenka originally slated the 2017 Stanford Classic as the tournament for her return to the WTA Tour. She moved up that return by playing in Mallorca and then again at Wimbledon.

As a former champion at the Stanford Classic, she is always a fantastic player to have at the WTA tournament. Unfortunately, the former world No. 1 will miss it this year.

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Azarenka is easing ack into the WTA Tour after giving birth to her son Leo. While she had hoped to play her third tournament at Stanford next week, she has withdrawn due to a viral illness.

Here’s a look at her official statement on the withdrawal via the WTA Tour’s social media.

Victoria Azarenka won the Stanford Classic in 2010. Then, she defeated Russian superstar Maria Sharapova in straight sets. The Belarusian tennis star took the meeting 6–4, 6–1.

This year, the Stanford Classic features Garbine Muguruza among other top players.

With Azarenka aside, several top players on the WTA Tour will look to take advantage of her absence. Muguruza is the current world No. 4 in women’s singles tennis. She will be the favorite next week at the tournament.

Other players to watch include Petra Kvitova and American Madison Keys among others. Kvitova has accepted a wildcard for the main draw in order to compete. The American Keys is the current world No. 16 in women’s singles tennis. She will have the backing of her home crowd along with others such as Coco Vandeweghe. While the tournament will of course miss Victoria Azarenka, the field remains highly competitive at the 2017 Stanford Classic. Qualifying action is already underway at the tournament this week. Stay tuned to see how the action unfolds next week.

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