Tennis: Bianca Andreescu out of season opener in Auckland over 'knee issues'
Bianca Andreescu
AucklandClassic organisers suffered a major setback to their tournament lineup on Tuesday with USOpen champion BiancaAndreescuwithdrawing due to "knee issues".
The Canadian teenager had been the top seed for the January6-12 tournament, which is a traditional warmup event for players fine-tuning their game ahead of the Australian Open.
"Organisers have been advised that BiancaAndreescuhas had to withdraw from the upcoming event due to her ongoing knee issues," the tournament said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We are disappointed not to welcome Bianca back and wish her all the best for a speedy recovery."
Andreescucame through qualifying inAucklandearlier this year only to lose to Germany's Julia Goerges in the final, which she used as a springboard for a sensational 2019.
She won her first WTA Tour title at Indian Wells, then beat Serena Williams in the finals in Toronto and again at Flushing Meadows to clinch her first Grand Slam title.
TheAucklandtournament had assembled arguably its strongest ever field withAndreescu, Williams, former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki and 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko all confirmed.
Two-times Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova and American teenagers Amanda Anisimova and Coco Gauff have also entered the tournament before they head to Melbourne Park for theseason-opening Grand Slam that runs from January20 - February2.