Two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Victoria Azarenka has been forced to withdraw from this year's Championships with a knee injury.
The 26-year-old suffered the injury during her first-round match at Roland Garros, where she retired while trailing 4-0 in the final set to Karin Knapp.
Azarenka had been seeded sixth for The Championships, where she reached the semi-finals in 2011 and 2012. She lost to eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarter-finals last year.
The Belarusian world No.6 had been one of the form players during the first three months of the 2016 season, winning three WTA titles before April.
She beat Angelique Kerber to win in Brisbane, got the better of world No.1 Williams to take the Indian Wells crown and was too good for Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in the Miami final a few days later.
Those victories over Williams and Kuznetsova made her only the third woman in WTA history to win the so-called Indian Wells-Miami Sunshine Double.
Following the withdrawal, Championships Referee Andrew Jarrett released a revised ladies’ singles seeding list.
Five-time champion Venus Williams moves from No.9 seed to No.8, Britain’s Johanna Konta is up one to No.16 while German Andrea Petkovic also benefits as she becomes the No.32 seed.
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