World no.1 Victoria Azarenka will undergo further tests in a Tokyo hospital this weekend after being forced to withdraw from the Toray Pan Pacific Open after complaining of dizziness, which seems to signify chronic fatigue.
The 23 year-old Belorussian withdrew before her quarter-final with Germany’s Angelique Kerber. She revealed of feeling below par before the WTA Premier Five event complaining of health issues and admitted she had struggled to complete her third-round match the previous day against Italy’s Roberta Vinci.
“Before the tournament I wasn’t feeling very good,” said Australian Open champion and US Open runner up Azarenka. “I had low energy. I wasn’t myself. It wasn’t possible today. Maybe it was tiredness from the whole season. I need to have some tests. It’s a little bit unknown what it is.”
Azarenka has played 62 singles matches in 2012 and also won a gold medal for Belarus in the Olympic mixed doubles alongside Max Mirnyi. However this amount is minimal compared to Sara Errani who has played 70 matches at singles and another 61 at doubles.
Tokyo finalist Agnieszka Randwanska will be going into her 70th singles match of the year against Nadia Petrova and has also contested 14 doubles matches.
Azarenka had not played since losing in the US Open final to Serena Williams nearly three weeks ago but maintained she has been struggling with her health since arriving in Japan. During the match against Vinci, she summoned a doctor to the court and had her blood pressure checked midway through the first set.
“I felt dizzy on the court and my head was spinning in between points which made it difficult to focus,” Azarenka said. “What exactly it is, I don’t know. I am still trying to figure it out. Hopefully, I’ll know as soon as possible and get rid of it.”
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Japanese tennis news, Sports, Tennis News, Toray Pan Pacific, Victoria Azarenka