Aryna Sabalenka thanks Billie Jean King after Australian Open win
It's Sabalenka's first title.
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Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the BNP Paribas Open.
The move comes after she said that she planned to take another extended break from tennis following her loss at the US Open earlier this month. She fell in three sets, 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-4 to eventual runner-up Leylah Fernandez in New York.
“I feel like for me recently, like, when I win, I don’t feel happy,” Osaka said at the time. “I feel more like a relief. And then when I lose, I feel very sad. I don’t think that’s normal.
“I honestly don’t know when I’m going to play my next tennis match,” she added. “I think I’m going to take a break from playing for a while.”
The former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion is currently ranked No. 8 in the world. She withdrew from the French Open before the second round, citing mental health, before eventually sitting out of Wimbledon. She then returned for the Tokyo Olympics, lighting the cauldron during the opening ceremony.
The tournament at Indian Wells is scheduled for Oct. 4 to 17.
It's Sabalenka's first title.
Instead, she'll set her sights on the doubles bracket.
Pegula is the last American woman standing.
Both lost in straight sets.