There is some unfortunate news coming just before the Australian Open 2021. Former World No.4 Belinda Bencic has decided to withdraw from the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi.

The tournament will take place from January 5th to January 13th, 2021. It is an outdoor hard-court tournament that will take place at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre in Abu Dhabi.

Bencic has joined the list of withdrawn players that includes Saisai Zheng, Caroline Garcia, Jelena Ostapenko, Danielle Collins, Patricia Maria Tig, Katerina Siniakova, and Alison Van Uytvanck. This will enable players like Marta Kostyuk, Potapova, Juvan, and Dodin to move into the main draw of the tournament.

The 23-year-old Bencic will also miss the Australian Open 2021 qualifiers in Dubai.

Belinda Bencic in 2020

Bencic had quite a poor start to 2020 as Anett Kontaveit eliminated her in the third round of the Australian Open. She managed to reach the quarters of the St. Petersburg Open and the Qatar Open 2020 but could not go past them.

She didn’t take part in the US Open and French Open 2020. The Italian Open 2020 proved to be her last tournament of the year where Danka Kovinic defeated her in the very first round.

The Swiss player will now miss both the Abu Dhabi and the Australian Open 2021, but Fans expect her to make a comeback very soon.

Italian Players playing in Abu Dhabi

Martina Trevisan and Jasmine Paolini will begin in the main draw of the Abu Dhabi Open 2021. However, Jessica Pieri, Bianca Turati, and Federica Di Sarra will have to first go through the qualifiers.

The contest will be an exciting one as it is happening before the Australian Open 2021. In a situation like this, it becomes a major chance for some new players to show their talent to the whole tennis world.