Barbora Krejcikova withdrew on the eve of the BNP Paribas Open because of an elbow injury. The world's second-ranked woman said she's been bothered by the injury since the tournament in Qatar nearly two weeks ago. She said the pain worsened overnight, a day before the Indian Wells event begins.
"I will focus on getting the right treatment as soon as possible and I hope I can be back on the court soonest," Krejcikova said in a statement.
The 26-year-old tennis player from the Czech Republic is the defending champion at the French Open, which begins May 22.
The desert tournament already lost top-ranked Ash Barty, who announced last week that she wouldn't play since she hasn't sufficiently recovered after her victory in the Australian Open in January.
Alize Cornet of France will move into Krejcikova's place in the draw and a lucky loser from qualifying will take Cornet's place.
(Reported by AP)
