"I will be taking the remainder of the season off to focus on my health and training"
Tuesday 22 September 2020 19:29, UK
Bianca Andreescu has called it a day on the 2020 season and vows to come back "stronger and better than ever".
The Canadian, who won the 2019 US Open, suffered a knee injury at last year's WTA Finals and hasn't been able to regain full fitness since.
A foot injury has added to her woes and the result has been her continued absence from the WTA Tour.
Now, with the French Open due to start on Sunday, she has announced that she is going to miss the Slam and take further time out.
"I have come to the difficult decision to skip the clay court swing this year," Andreescu said on social media.
"I will be taking the remainder of the season off to focus on my health and training.
"As hard as it was to come to this conclusion, I have so much to look forward to in 2021, including the Olympics; I want to use this time to focus on my game so I can come back stronger and better than ever."
Andreescu's absence from Paris adds to that of the world No 1 Ashleigh Barty, who is not competing due to COVID-19 concerns.
Naomi Osaka, the recent US Open champion, will also not be there due to the hamstring injury that she managed throughout the competition in New York.
Meanwhile, Britain's Harriet Dart has moved into the second round of qualifying round for the French Open after an emphatic 6-3 6-0 victory over Romanian fifth seed Mihaela Buzarnescu. She will face either Irina Bara or Tereza Mrdeza next.
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