(CNN) -- World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka plans to take a break from tennis following her shock fourth-round defeat at the French Open on Sunday.
The 22-year-old, who lost 6-2 7-6 (7-4) to 15th seed Dominika Cibulkova, said she was jaded after the opening months of the season in which she won her first grand slam at the Australian Open and went on a 26-match winning streak.
However, the Belorussian lost in finals in Stuttgart and Madrid before pulling out ahead of a second-round clash against the diminutive Cibulkova in Rome last month due to a shoulder injury.
She will lose the top ranking if Rome champion Maria Sharapova can reach the final in Paris for the first time in her career.
"There has been a lot of tennis for me in the last five months," she said. "I haven't been home in a while, and it's something that I need just to get rested mentally, definitely, and just to get out of the tennis field a little bit.
"And once I have my passion and desire back on the court, I'll be on the grass."
Paris goes to Beijing? The Li Na effect
Victoria Azarenka targets 2012 success
World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka has come a long way since first picking up a tennis racket in her native Belarus.
The tennis journey of Victoria Azarenka
Maria Sharapova has come a long way since turning professional on her 14th birthday in April 2001, having played the game since she was four years old.
Maria Sharapova's French Open dream
Li Na's French Open win made her one of the richest sportswomen in the world -- second only to tennis rival Maria Sharapova, right.
Li reaps riches of French Open win
Azarenka had previously lost to the Slovakian just once in eight meetings, but five of those had gone to three sets and two were remarkable comeback victories.
She had to come from a set and 4-0 down in her opening match in Paris last Monday, but could not pull off an escape this time as she smashed two rackets in frustration.
"Today I couldn't do it. It was just not going for me. I tried everything. All I could hope for was her mistakes," Azarenka said.
"I think she plays much better against the top players than maybe a little bit lower-ranked players. She really has that desire. I don't know what motivates her to play that way."
Cibulkova reached the French Open semifinals in 2009, but said she was nervous she would again blow her advantage against Azarenka -- who stands nine inches taller at six foot.
"You can't be human if you weren't thinking about that," she said. "Because this year in Miami I was 6-1 5-2 up against her. And last year in Miami it was the same.
"Today it happened the same when I was 4-2 up. And that's why I got a little bit ... not nervous, but not going for my shots anymore.
"But today it was a great thing that I managed to go through these emotions. She was 6-5 up, and I said, 'Hey, come on, you have to play your game again and just make it.' "
The 23-year-old will next face U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur of Australia, who beat 79th-ranked American teenager Sloane Stephens.
Sixth seed Stosur, the French Open runner-up in 2010, ended the 19-year-old's dream run as she won 7-5 6-4 in 85 minutes.
Stephens lost in the first round last year and has not won a match in three attempts at her home grand slam.
Italy's Sara Errani earlier reached the quarterfinals after beating 2009 French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The 21st seed, who also made the last eight in Melbourne in January and has won three clay titles this season, won 6-0 7-5 to set up a clash with Angelique Kerber.
The German 10th seed, who lost to Stosur in the New York semifinals in September in her best grand slam achievement, ended the hopes of 21-year-old Croatian Petra Martic as she won 6-3 7-5 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Loading weather data ...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
However, she still considers the Eastern European nation to be her home. Azarenka is pictured with former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki (right) at a children's cancer center in Minsk in 2010.
Azarenka (far left) first became involved in the sport when her mother started working in a tennis center in her native Belarus. Her first coach was Valentina Rzhanih (also pictured).
Azarenka was a Wimbledon champion at the age of 14, winning the girls' doubles title in 2004 with compatriot Volha Havartsova.
Azarenka won the junior titles at the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2005, finishing the season as junior world number one. She burst onto the senior scene the year after.
Less than a year after she briefly considered quitting, Azarenka became the first player from Belarus to win a grand slam singles title when she beat Maria Sharapova in the 2012 Australian Open final.
Azarenka is still seeking to improve, and has added two-time grand slam champion and former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo to her coaching team.
Sharapova was spotted at an early age by former great Martina Navratilova and after moving to the United States she was enrolled into the famous Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida at the age of nine.
The Russian became the third youngest female to win Wimbledon in 2004 aged just 17. She beat Serena Williams in the final to spark huge interest the papers labelled "Maria Mania."
Since becoming China's first grand slam singles champion in Paris last year, Li has signed seven new sponsorship deals.
Western brands have seized on Li as a way of moving into the Chinese marketplace, which is traditionally one of the hardest to infiltrate.
Li has a deal with Chinese insurance firm Taikang, and her U.S.-based agent says she could have signed up to seven further sponsorships, but he did not want to compromise her tennis career.
Li has comfortably maintained her place in the world's top 10 but hasn't won another title since Roland Garros, although she has reached two finals this year.
However, she remains one of the most in-demand players on the WTA Tour, not just because of her nationality but also because of her engaging personality.
In China she is seen as a rebellious figure because of her tattoo, and for refusing to accept government help as she established her career.
When Li reached the finals of the Australian and French Opens last year, it was estimated that -- with China's population of 1.3 billion -- the matches attracted possibly the highest television audience for a one-off sporting event.
|