Bianca Andreescu will miss the 2022 Australian Open to focus on her mental health after suffering a "very challenging" couple of years.
Andreescu has struggled with physical and mental concerns since winning the US Open two years ago.
The 21-year-old has felt the strain even more this year, with her grandmother in intensive care after contracting COVID-19, Andreescu also testing positive and spending significant time in isolation.
The former world number four has decided to skip the first grand slam next year as she takes extra time out to "reset, recover and grow", but vowed to return "stronger than ever."
The Canadian tweeted: "As you all know, the past two years have been very challenging for me for a variety of reasons.
"Especially this year in particular, I spent multiple weeks in isolation quarantining which affected me greatly – both mentally and physically. In addition, my grandmother spent several weeks in the ICU due to a covid infection, something that really hit me hard.
"A lot of days, I did not feel like myself, especially while I was training and/or playing matches. I felt like I was carrying the world on my shoulders.
"I could not detach myself from everything that was going on off the court; was feeling the collective sadness and turmoil around it and it took its toll on me.
"I want to give myself extra time to reset, recover and grow from this (as cliche [sic] as that sounds) 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.
"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 season."
'Ambitious' Alcaraz targets career grand slam in 2025
Carlos Alcaraz says he "wants more" as he targets earning a career grand slam in 2025.
The Spaniard enjoyed his best year in terms of grand slams in 2024, winning his first French Open title before successfully defending his Wimbledon crown by beating Novak Djokovic in July.
He has won four major titles in his career, having also won the US Open in 2022, but is yet to triumph at the Australian Open.
Alcaraz reached the quarter-final on his most recent attempt, his best finish in Melbourne, losing out to Alexander Zverev in four sets.
Only eight men have ever completed a career grand slam – Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic – while Alcaraz would be the youngest man to ever achieve the feat if he triumphs in January, overtaking Nadal.
"I am a very ambitious person, and I want to win the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam," said the world number three.
"I want 2025 to be even more exciting. Let's say I want more. Australia is what I want to tattoo, even if my father doesn't like it very much. Being champion there is my main goal for next season.
"It was a year of ups and downs, but still positive. I still get emotional when I watch the videos of Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.
"I [will] start a hard month of training, but spending Christmas and New Year at home is wonderful and gives me a break. Sometimes it's difficult to find happiness, but I want people to have fun with me."
Tennis Jamaica President Azar expects competitive matches all the way throughout All Jamaica Open Tennis Championships
The 2024 All Jamaica Open Tennis Championships are set for December 14-21 at the Eric Bell National Tennis Center in Kingston.
Players from all over the island and based all over the world will descend upon the home of Tennis in the country and compete in categories such as the Men’s and Women’s Open as well as Junior Boys and Girls in the 12, 14, 16 and 18 categories.
“The All Jamaica is certainly shaping up to be a wonderful event,” said Tournament Director, David Sanguinetti, at a press conference on Friday.
“The entries are through the roof. We have roughly 120 juniors. All in all, the numbers are fantastic and we haven’t seen numbers like this in the juniors in some time,” he added.
In the Men’s Open, players like Randy Phillips, Dwayne Pagon, Damion Johnson, Daniel Azar and Nicholas Gore are expected to contend for the top prize in the absence of players like Blaise Bicknell, who can’t play this tournament due to a protective ranking, and John Chin, who is missing out due to illness.
Tennis Jamaica President John Azar outlined what fans can expect from these championships.
“The main thing that spectators can look out for is competitive matches. High level competition across all categories. We have our top junior playing all categories. In the Men’s Open, outside of two of our top players, literally everybody else has entered the event in terms of players who are making their mark on the local scene,” he said.
“Normally, in events like this, you may find from the quarterfinals onward, the matches start to get very interesting. I’m expecting fully well that, in the Men’s Open, from the first round you’re going to have some very, very good and competitive matchups,” he added.
One concern brought up during Friday’s proceedings was damage caused to the courts at the Eric Bell Center due to Hurricane Beryl.
Azar assured that the relevant repairs to the court have been made and no hiccups are expected during the tournament.
“We’re fully expecting that the place will be in pristine condition. It’s important to be continually upgrading and maintaining our facilities to make sure they always remain at a certain standard,” he said.
Sponsors for this year’s championships include GK General Insurance, Konnex as well as the Sports Development Foundation.
'Icon' Nadal chose to retire at 'right time', says Henman
Tim Henman believes it was "the right time" for Rafael Nadal to retire after he bowed out following the Davis Cup Finals in November.
Nadal retired with 22 men's Grand Slam titles, 92 ATP-level singles titles, including 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal.
He also won five Davis Cup titles throughout his career, in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019.
The Spaniard, who struggled with injuries during the last two years of his career, represented his country on home soil but lost his final-ever match in straight sets to Botic van de Zandschulp as Spain were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Nadal did bow out by claiming one last bit of history though, becoming the Spaniard player with the most matches played in the competition in the last 30 years, with that his 43rd and final appearance.
Henman believes Nadal bowed out on his own terms at the right time for him.
"From the outside looking in, I think it was the right time," Henman told Eurosport. "He's given so much to the sport.
"The sport takes so much out of him physically and mentally. And I just don't know whether his body could take it any longer.
"So, I think it was a good time to step down and give Rafa the time to reflect on just the incredible achievements that he's had in this sport."
Following his last match, Nadal was welcomed back onto the court in Malaga to address the crowd, while an emotional tribute with messages from his rivals played.
"Look, I think when you talk about retirement for any player, it's really not straightforward to plan it," Henman added.
"And with the injuries and all the different challenges that Rafa had and with the schedule, I think to be representing your country in the Davis Cup in your home country is very special. So, I think it was a good send-off.
"And I hope Rafa felt comfortable with that. He's just been an absolute icon of our sport. But for the Spanish people to get to see him one last time at home, I think was very, very special."
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