Former champion Victoria Azarenka pulls out of ASB Classic

  • 24/12/2017
The former champion is currently in a court case which prevents her from leaving the US.
The former champion is currently in a court case which prevents her from leaving the US. Photo credit: Getty Images

Former world tennis number one Victoria Azarenka has been forced to pull out of the upcoming ASB Classic in January.

Azarenka is currently locked in a custody battle with her former partner and is not allowed to leave California while a legal case is ongoing - which ultimately has forced her to pull out.

The 28-year-old is battling for full custody of her son, Leo.

"We are obviously very disappointed to not have someone of the calibre of Victoria in Auckland and know how desperately she wanted to be playing here," tournament director Karl Budge said in a statement.

"However I think we can all appreciate family comes first and whilst we are disappointed we wish Victoria the very best and hope to see her back on court as soon as possible including welcoming her back to Auckland in 2019".

Azarenka is ranked 201 and has won the Australian Open twice.

A replacement has yet to be named for the tournament, which gets underway on January 1.

Newshub.