World No 1 Australian Ashleigh Barty withdraws from WTA Indian Wells

Australian Ashleigh Barty, ranked first among women in the world, withdraws from the WTA draw in Indian Wells in singles, the organizers of the tournament announced on Monday.

Officials gave no reason for Barty’s decision to pull out of next month’s women’s draw which was already suffering from the absence of several top-ranked players, including Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams.

Barty, winner of two Grand Slam tournaments (Roland Garros in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021), had a disappointing performance at the US Open earlier this month when she lost in the third round against American Shelby Rogers.

This was expected to be Barty’s first action since her early US Open exit.

Barty has competed in two previous Indian Wells events with her best result being a round-of-16 appearance in 2019.

The Indian Wells tournament runs from 4 to 17 October. It is making a return to the tennis calendar for the first time in more than a year and a half due to the global coronavirus pandemic.