"This is becoming tragic" - Tennis fans concerned as former World No. 2 Anett Kontaveit withdraws from Indian Wells 2023

Anett Kontaveit recently announced her withdrawal from the 2023 Indian Wells, which is scheduled to begin on March 6.

Kontaveit's 2023 season has been plagued with lower back problems, and she made early exits at both the Adelaide International and the Australian Open. In her last tournament, the Abu Dhabi Open, the Estonian took a couple of medical time-outs against Shelby Rogers before retiring in the third set of the second-round match.

The news of Kontaveit's withdrawal from the Indian Wells event did not come as a surprise since she had also pulled out of the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Open earlier this month. A fan took to social media to share the news of her withdrawal, to which others reacted with concern.

Even as several fans wished Kontaveit a speedy recovery, one of them empathized with her.

Anett Kontaveit reveals her off-court interests in new Lascoste video

Anett Kontaveit recently featured in the sportswear brand Lacoste's new campaign. Titled "Between the lines", the campaign focuses on athletes' lives outside of the court and how having varied interests helps them maintain a work-life balance.

The former World No. 2 took to social media to share a video by the brand that showcased her love for gardening and pottery. She captioned her post:

In the video, Kontaveit can be seen jogging and playing with her dog, and she stated that it made her calm and gave her the energy to be back on the court. She closed the video with the following lines:

Anett Kontaveit has been with Lacoste since 2019, and she also sports the brand on-court.

About the author

Stuti is a journalist who has been covering Tennis at Sportskeeda for almost two years. A firm believer in sticking to facts and not overselling them, giving proper context, and maintaining a neutral tone in her articles, her disciplined reporting methods have garnered close to 1 million reads so far, with one of her articles receiving nearly 100,000 views and gaining global recognition.

As an ardent Rafael Nadal fan, Stuti greatly admires the Spaniard for his ability to silence critics who have doubted his form due to recurring injury setbacks. Despite being a fan of the 14-time Roland-Garros winner, she doesn't subscribe to the idea of just one GOAT and considers herself lucky to have been born in the same era as 'The Big 3.'

Stuti is a big Wimbledon fan and adores how the tournament exudes class with its all-white outfits and well-behaved crowds. When she isn't watching tennis or rooting for her favorite player, she can be often found engaged in drawing and graphic designing, maybe even pondering how she could eliminate the final tie-break at 6-6 in Grand Slams if given the chance!

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