Victoria Azarenka did all the work to get herself back onto the WTA tour this summer following her pregnancy and maternity leave, but now she finds herself facing an impossible choice that may prevent her from competing in the near term.
Azarenka is currently locked in a custody dispute with her son Leo's father, Billy McKeague, with whom she split last month. With the litigation ongoing, a judge in the case ruled that Azarenka would not be able to bring Leo to New York for the US Open - which begins Aug. 28 - without McKeague.
"Shortly after Wimbledon, Leo's father and I separated and as we work to resolve some of the legal processes, the way things stand now is that the only way I can play in the US Open this year is if I leave Leo behind in California, which I'm not willing to do," Azarenka explained Thursday.
"Balancing child care and a career is not easy for any parent, but it is a challenge I am willing to face and embrace. I want to support men and women everywhere who know it is OK to be a working mother - or father.
"No one should ever have to decide between a child and their career, we are strong enough to do both. ... I look forward to hopefully having positive developments soon so that this difficult situation can be resolved and I can get back to competing."
After taking over a year off to give birth and take care of Leo, the two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 returned to the tour for the grass-court tuneup in Mallorca, where she shook off some rust before making a run to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon. She hasn't played since.
"I remain optimistic that in the coming days Leo's father and I can put aside any differences and take steps in the right direction to more effectively work as a team and agree on an arrangement for all three of us to travel and for me to compete but, more importantly to ensure that Leo has a consistent presence from both of his parents," she wrote.
The US Open has already announced its wild-card entrants, but should the situation resolve itself in the coming days, Azarenka could still conceivably get into the main draw using her protected ranking, as she did at Wimbledon. The 28-year-old was the runner-up in Flushing Meadows in 2012 and 2013, losing the final to Serena Williams in three sets both times.