Updated: On Monday Victoria Azarenka confirmed she would withdraw from the US Open due to her “ongoing family situation,” reports TMZ Sports. Misa Eguch will take her place, per the NY Times’ Ben Roethenberg.
Victoria Azarenka withdraws from US Open due to custody issue
Azarenka said that nobody should have to choose between their child or their career but is hopeful progress can be made before the US Open starts.
Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images
Original: Victoria Azarenka may not participate in the upcoming US Open because she may not be able to bring her son with her to New York. The issue comes from her recent separation from the baby’s father, Azarenka said in a statement on Thursday.
Azarenka said that her baby’s birth in December of last year was the happiest day of her life, but “like most working mothers, despite my unconditional love for my son, I am faced with a difficult situation which may not allow me to return to work right away.”
She separated from her son’s father following Wimbledon, and it seems that custody and other legal issues relating to their child are preventing Azarenka from leaving California, where the child lives. She said the only way she can play in the US Open, with the way things stand now, is leaving Leo behind in California, “which I’m not willing to do.”
Azarenka, 28, is a two-time Australian Open champion and has appeared in the finals at the US Open twice before, in 2012 and 2013. The women’s tennis field has been interesting in recent months, thanks to the pregnancy of Serena Williams and other factors, with many new players establishing themselves as contenders.
“No one should ever have to decide between a child and their career,” Azarenka said in her statement.
She went on to say that she is “optimistic” that she and her son’s father can “put aside any differences and take steps in the right direction to more effectively work as a team and agree on an arrangement for all three of us to travel and for me to compete but, more importantly, to ensure that Leo has a consistent presence from both of his parents.”
Azarenka was the runner-up to Williams in each of her finals appearances at the US Open. She is currently ranked 204th in the world after Wimbledon, her first major tournament in more than a year following the birth of her child.
The US Open gets underway on Aug. 28.
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