WTA No. 3 Victoria Azarenka and ATP No. 7 Juan Martin del Porto will both rest their injuries in hopes of recovering for the upcoming clay-court season.
Del Potro, who reached the Indian Wells final last week, lost his opening match in Miami to Tobias Kamke. He has been troubled by a left wrist injury since last summer. His next scheduled tournament is the Portugal Open, which begins on April 29.
“I hope I will be better these days without competitions,” he told reporters. “I will have a big rest for my wrist, and that’s important to be ready and be 100 percent in my next tournament.”
Azarenka, who pulled out of Miami prior to her opening-round match with an ankle injury, said she is concerned. She also pulled out of her quarterfinal against Caroline Wozniacki last week at Indian Wells. Azarenka is scheduled to play the tournament in Monterrey, Mexico, the week after next, but said she is questionable.
“It kind of does [concern me] because I really wanted to play here, and it takes me longer than what I want to do,” she told reporters. “And I don’t want to stop. I want to keep playing.
“So that is very frustrating part that you cannot control; you’re taken out of something that you love to do and something that I’m looking forward to do every day. But I have a great team around me that definitely are going to do a good job. I have no doubt about that. I have a little bit of time to prepare, and I will take the necessary time for me to get rid of this problem and move on to the next chapter.”