World No. 1 Barty withdraws from Indian Wells
Australia's Ashleigh Barty has withdrawn from the WTA India Wells singles draw.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Australia s Ashleigh Barty, the number one ranked female in the world, has withdrawn from the WTA India Wells singles draw, tournament organizers announced on Monday.
Officials gave no reason for Barty s decision to pull out of next month s women s draw which was already suffering from the absence of several top-ranked players, including Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.
Barty, winner of two Grand Slam tournaments (Roland Garros in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021), had a disappointing performance at the US Open earlier this month when she lost in the third round against American Shelby Rogers.
This was expected to be Barty s first action since her early US Open exit.
Barty has competed in two previous Indian Wells events with her best result being a round-of-16 appearance in 2019.
The Indian Wells tournament runs from October 4 to 17. It is making a return to the tennis calendar for the first time in more than a year and a half due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
