Berlin (AFP) – World number one Ashleigh Barty has abandoned the WTA hard court tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.

The 25-year-old Australian won the Miami Open last year. “Unfortunately, after the Australian Open, my body didn’t recover as well as I had hoped and I wasn’t able to adequately prepare for Indian Wells and Miami, so I decided to withdraw from both tournaments,” Barty said.

Barty became the first Australian to win the Australian Open in 44 years on January 29. She had won her first Grand Slam final of the season against American surprise Daniel Collins. Collins will also miss Indian Wells due to injury.

Barty is now hoping to compete in the Billie Jean King Cup on 15/16. To start in April. Australia meets Slovakia at home.

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