'It was a mistake' - Victoria Azarenka retires mid-match at Miami Open after 'extremely stressful few weeks'

Victoria Azarenka has said «it was a mistake» to play at all after she retired mid-match during her third-round match at the Miami Open. The former world No. 1 deleted her social media accounts after she broke down in tears during her third-round match against Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells and she could not complete her match against Linda Fruhvirtova in Miami.

She had been trailing 6-2 3-0 against 16-year-old when she ended the match suddenly. Ad/> While the umpire suggested she wait for a trainer to come and speak with her, the two-time Australian Open ended the match abruptly after 45 minutes. WTA MiamiFruhvirtova, 16, into the last-16 after Azarenka abruptly retires14 HOURS AGO She had earlier shouted up at her box: «Why am I here?» «I shouldn't have gone on the court today,» Azarenka said in a statement following the match in Miami.

«The last few weeks have been extremely stressful in my personal life. Last match took so much out of me, but I wanted to play in front of a great audience as they helped me pull through my first match. »I wanted to go out there and try but it was a mistake.

I always look forward to the challenge and pressure of competition but today it was too much. I have to and will learn from this." Azarenka 'devastated' by invasion of Ukraine, calls for 'peace and end to war' Fruhvirtova, 16, into the last-16 after Azarenka abruptly retires The Belarusian, who was playing under a neutral flag due to sanctions against Russia and Belarus, had ended her Indian Wells match while she was serving at 2-2 in the second set. She said to the chair umpire: «I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.» Rybakina had walked to the net to check if her opponent was okay at the same time the chair umpire approached her.