Aryna Sabalenka forced to skip Indian Wells Masters after positive test

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• WTA Tennis

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka has announced that she has tested positive for the coronavirus and that she will miss the Indian Wells Masters. As world No. 1 Asleigh Barty pulled out of the Indian Wells a couple of days ago, Sabalenka was projected to be the top seed in Indian Wells.

Unfortunately for Sabalenka, she won't be making her third appearance in Indian Wells. Sabalenka didn't enjoy much success in her previous two Indian Wells campaigns, losing in the third round in 2018 and the round-of-16 in 2019, respectively.

"Unfortunately I've tested positive at Indian Wells and won't be able to compete," Belarusian Sabalenka wrote on her Instagram story on Saturday. "I've started my isolation and I'll be staying here until I'm cleared by the doctors and health officials.

So far I'm looking ok but really sad to not be able to play this year."

Sabalenka last played at the US Open

Sabalenka made the US Open semifinal, before losing to Canadian teenage sensation Leylah Fernandez. "I'll still need some time to think about this," Sabalenka said after the match when asked what she would learn from the defeat.

"The simple things that if you have opportunity, just go for it, don't overthink. This is easy to say. When you're on the court, you starting thinking a lot. "As far you go in the draw, more expectation you have. This is something that actually I'm struggling with because in the beginning of the tournament I was out of the shape honestly.

I wasn't playing well on the tournament before. I wasn't playing well on the practice. I was, like, getting crazy on the practice. "Going into the first match, I didn't have any expectations. I was playing simple because when you're, like, not in the best shape and you're trying to make it close to the lines, it's not working. You play simple with more targets."