Aryna Sabalenka withdraws from Indian Wells because of coronavirus

Aryna Sabalenka (Google Images)

Aryna Sabalenka of Minsk, Belarus, the second ranked player in the world, has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss the Indian Wells Masters event which begins this week from California according to CBC Sports. Sabalenka has made the controversial decision not to be vaccinated so far. According to tennis365.com, she has publicly stated she does not want her family to be vaccinated either.

Sabalenka has not played a competitive tournament since losing to Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada in the semifinals of the 2021 United States Open. There, the unseeded 19-year-old Canadian sensation from Montreal beat Sabalenka in three sets, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4.

Sabalenka joins a list that includes Bianca Andreescu of Canada, Paula Badosa of Spain, Coco Gauff of the United States, Johanna Konta of Great Britain, Dayana Yastremska of the Ukraine, Simona Halep of Romania, and Madison Keys of the United States. However, Sabalenka’s positive test generates a little more criticism and controversy because of for her comments about not wanting to be vaccinated.

It is also interesting that the southern California region of Palm Springs has significantly less coronavirus restrictions when it comes to professional sports than northern California at the moment. In the San Francisco region, all members of the Golden State Warriors need to be vaccinated before they play on the court later this month. Warriors star Andrew Wiggins initially showed hesitancy about being vaccinated, before he finally got vaccinated this past weekend. It is surprising that the ATP and WTA have not made it mandatory for its players to be vaccinated.

There are two other high-profile players who are skipping Indian Wells. They are world no. 1 Ashleigh Barty of Australia, and Naomi Osaka of Japan.

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