Ashleigh Barty has announced that she would not be playing the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to a foot injury.
The Australian had a mixed start this season after losing to Jennifer Brady in the first round of Brisbane International. But she won the WTA title in Adelaide. In the most recent appearance in the Australian Open, Ashleigh Barty had reached the semi-finals but lost to Sofia Kenin.
Barty has not revealed yet as to when she would be back to playing but has confirmed that she will not appear in the Dubai tournament.
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She announced:
“Unfortunately, I am withdrawing from the Dubai Duty Free Championship due to a right foot injury.”
The Aussie also wished the other players and the tournament for a great week and told that she is looking forward to playing in the city soon.
This is the 20th anniversary for the WTA event and it will also feature three current Grand Slam Champions, Sofia Kenin, Bianca Andreescu, and Simona Halep compete for the title. After the withdrawal of Barty, Simona Halep will be the top seed in the tournament.
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Elina Svitolina, who won in Dubai twice will play in the tournament thanks to a wild card entry. She had lost to the Swiss Belinda Bencic last year in the UAE, who eventually went on to win the title.
Colm McLoughlin, the executive vice-chairman and CEO of the Dubai Duty Free said that Elina Svitolina had produced some fine performances and although she could not claim her third title during the last year, she is still one of the favorites this time.
Interestingly, Kim Clijsters who is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and a former World No. 1 will also make a comeback to this game and have chosen this landmark tournament for that.
The last match which Kim played was in way back in 2012 at the US Open and she had announced last year about her intent to come back to the game. The four-time Grand Slam champion has never competed in Dubai before and she will be one addition to the exciting cast who will compete for the trophy.
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