Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open winner from Belarus, advanced to the fourth round of the Indian Wells tournament on Sunday via walkover after Ukrainian qualifier Lesia Tsurenko canceled their scheduled match.
Tsurenko allegedly cited “personal reasons” for yet another withdrawal, according to the organizers. There were no additional explanations provided, and there was no mention of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, which prevented Russian and Belarussian tennis players from competing under their respective flags.
In fact, since Indian Wells last year, Tsurenko has now lost nine of her 18 tournaments by retirement or walkover.
She forfeited a walkover in the semifinals in Canberra this year, as well as walkovers in the quarterfinals at Eastbourne and Portoroz, Slovenia, the year before. Sabalenka breezed into the third round with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Evgeniya Rodina. Her maiden Grand Slam triumph in Melbourne was a part of a perfect 13-0 start to the year that culminated in the quarterfinals at Dubai.
She will next compete against former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, who defeated Wang Xinyu of China 6-2, 6-7 (1/7), 6-2.
In Dubai last month, Krejcikova won the title by defeating the top three players in the world, moving up 14 spots to place 16 in the WTA rankings.
