the third round. In the third round, Azarenka recorded a straight sets victory over Angelique Kerber, before falling to world no. 1 and eventual champion Ashleigh Barty in the fourth round in three sets. Azarenka started her clay season at Madrid, where she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova. She then withdrew from her match against Jessica Pegula, citing a lower back injury. At the French Open, she reached the fourth round only for the fifth time in her career, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, Clara Tauson, and Madison Keys, before falling to eventual runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets. At the German Open, Azarenka reached the semifinals, defeating Andrea Petkovic, Angelique Kerber, and Jessica Pegula, before falling to the eventual champion, Liudmila Samsonova. Partnering compatriot Aryna Sabalenka, Azarenka won the doubles event at the same tournament, defeating the top seeded pair of Demi Schuurs and Nicole Melichar. At Bad Homburg, she defeated Yuliya Hatouka and Alizé Cornet, saving four match points in the process. She then withdrew from her match against Sara Sorribes Tormo, citing an abdominal injury. At Wimbledon, she defeated Kateryna Kozlova in the first round, before falling to Sorana Cîrstea, despite having a 3–1 lead in the third set. At the 2021 National Bank Open in Canada she reached her first Masters WTA 1000 quarterfinal for the season. Seeded 18th at the US Open, Azarenka swept aside Tereza Martincová (6–4, 6–0), then squeaked past Jasmine Paolini (6–3, 7–6) before falling to ninth seed Garbiñe Muguruza in three sets. At Indian Wells, she went one step further then in Canada, reaching the semifinals of the tournament for the fourth time in her career defeating again Jessica Pegula. In the semifinal she defeated Jeļena Ostapenko to reach her third Indian Wells final, which she lost to Paula Badosa. Only two women had won more matches in Indian Wells overall than her 33: Lindsay Davenport (47) and Maria Sharapova (38). 2022: 500th tour-level win Azarenka opened her season at the Adelaide International reaching the quarter-finals and losing to Swiatek in three sets. She reached semifinals in the doubles, partnering with Paula Badosa. However, she withdrew from the semis, citing a right thigh injury. At the Australian Open Azarenka reached the fourth round which was her best result since 2016. At the WTA 1000 Qatar Open, she recorded her 500th tour-level match win defeating Yulia Putintseva in the first round. She withdrew from her second