Blame Canada - Victoria Azarenka forced to withdraw from tournament in Toronto due to visa issues

Belarusian tennis player and former world number one Victoria Azarenka won’t be playing at the National Bank Open in Toronto because her visa application to enter Canada was denied.

Azarenka, like all Russian and Belarusian tennis players, is allowed to compete on the WTA Tour but must play as a neutral athlete.

The Australian Open champion in 2012 and 2013 was disappointed she won’t be able to play in Canada

“I wanted to inform you that unfortunately I have to withdraw from the tournament in Toronto due to my visa not being approved,” she said on social media. “It’s truly disappointing. It’s very sad to miss one of my favorite tournaments.”

The Toronto tournament is a key tune-up event ahead of the year’s final Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open at the end of August.

In a statement Tennis Canada said: “Tennis Canada confirms that Victoria Azarenka has been unable to secure a visa in time to compete in the National Bank Open. We have been working hard on the application with her and her team and have done everything we can to help but unfortunately the processing turnaround time has proved too challenging.”

Azarenka also missed out on Wimbledon earlier this summer due to the tournament’s ban of Russian and Belarusian players.

She remains hopeful to play at the Cincinnati Masters in the U.S., another key hard court tournament, beginning August 13.