(Febriuary 19, 2013) No. 2 Victoria Azarenka has been forced to withdraw from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to a foot injury.

“It happened last week, said Azarenka. “I have been obviously playing on it a lot, so going to a new tournament right is too much to handle right now. It keeps getting worse. It was an unfortunate decision that I had to make, and obviously I’m very disappointed with that” said Azarenka.

“We were looking forward to seeing Victoria in action, particularly as she was also unable to play last year through injury” said tournament director Salah Tahlak. “We wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing her back in Dubai next year.”

Azarenka’s place in the draw will be filled by lucky loser Carla Suarez Navarro.