World number one Ash Barty on Wednesday withdrew from the March 1-6 tournament in Doha with a left leg injury, while world number three Simona Halep and 2019 U.S. Open winner Bianca Andreescu are also skipping the event. "Yesterday we decided... that we're going to withdraw from Doha because of some intense weeks here," Swiatek, who played a warm-up in Melbourne before this month's Australian Open, said after beating Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-2 in the Adelaide final.
The 19-year-old Pole shot out of relative obscurity last year when she became the youngest woman to win the Roland Garros title since Monica Seles in 1992. Swiatek did not drop a set throughout the WTA 500 tournament and lost only 22 games in all. "For sure, there is something that clicks," Swiatek, who will rise to a new career-high ranking of number 15 on Monday, said of her good form during her title runs.
"With my heart not being there to travel and play in these conditions, I unfortunately have to take a break in order to preserve myself mentally," Simon wrote on Twitter. A former Australian Open and Wimbledon quarter-finalist, Simon crashed out in the first round of this year's season-opening major in Melbourne after a 6-1 6-2 6-1 defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas.