Former world No 4 and 2019 US Open women's singles champion Bianca Andreescu has announced she will miss the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Andreescu took to social media to explain her reasons for skipping the summer swing in Australia.
The 21-year-old says she wants to give herself time to "reset" and "recover" from a difficult time for her, "mentally and physically".
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"I felt like I was carrying the world on my shoulders," Andreescu, who also said her grandmother spent weeks in ICU due to a Covid infection.
"I could not detach myself from everything that was going on off the court; was feeling the collective sadness and turmoil around and it took it's toll on me."
Andreescu became Canada's first Grand Slam singles champion with her 2019 triumph in New York, when she beat Serena Williams in the final, but endured a run of injuries starting with a knee problem at that year's WTA Finals in Shenzhen.
She withdrew from this year's Tokyo Olympics, a decision she put down to all the challenges related to the pandemic.
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Andreescu, who last competed on the WTA Tour in October at Indian Wells where her title defence ended in the third round against Anett Kontaveit, did not say when she would return.
"I want to give myself extra time to reset, recover, and grow from this and continue to inspire by doing charity work, giving back and working on myself because I know by doing this I will come back stronger than ever," she said.
"I will therefore not start my season in Australia this year but will take some additional time to reflect, train and be ready for the upcoming 2022 tennis season."
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