US Open champion Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from the Australian Open as her knee rehabilitation continues.
The Canadian has been recovering from a knee injury that she suffered at the WTA Finals during her defeat to Simona Halep.
It was hopeful that the rising Canadian start would recover for the start of the season, where she was due to play in Auckland this week.
However the 19 year-old has announced today that her knee needs more time to rehabilitate and will miss the first grand slam of the year.
In a statement on Twitter, Andreescu updated her fans on the progress made on her recovery from the knee injury, “My rehab is going well, I feel better and stronger every day,” Andreescu explained.
“But after discussing it with my team and following the recommendation of the doctors, the Australian Open is unfortunately too soon in my rehab process and I sadly will not be able to play in it this year.
“It was a very tough decision to make as I love to play in Melbourne but I have to respect the recuperation plan for my knee and body.”
The withdrawal is a blow to the Australian Open, who would have loved to have boasted all top ten players for the first slam of the year.
As for Andreescu, today’s news continues a worrying pattern of the US Open champion constantly withdrawing from events due to injury having only played ten events in 2019.
However it is a smart decision as the Canadian will look to make her mark in 2020 with an Indian Wells title defence approaching.
The next big tournament Andreescu will look to compete in is the Premier 5 event in Doha, which starts on the 24th of February.
