Azarenka was drawn to meet Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, however Azarenka was forced to withdraw from the match and the tournament, citing a right ankle injury. As a result, despite her 17-match unbeaten start to the season, Azarenka lost her No. 2 ranking to eventual champion Maria Sharapova. Even though Azarenka attended the Player's Party in Miami for the Sony Open, she withdrew from the tournament moments before her first match with American up-and-comer Madison Keys, because she hadn't recovered fully from her right ankle injury. In her first tournament after injury, Azarenka lost to Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of the Madrid Open but successfully reached the final in the following tournament, the Italian Open by defeating Julia Görges, Ayumi Morita, Sam Stosur, and Sara Errani, but lost to Serena Williams in the final. In the French Open, as the third seed, she reached the semifinal before being defeated by Maria Sharapova who ended the tournament as runner-up. It was, however, a huge improvement made on her weakest surface. She is making huge strides to become a better clay-court player. In the first round of the Wimbledon Championships she defeated Maria João Koehler in straight sets, but suffered a serious knee injury early in the second set. This injury ultimately forced her to withdraw from the Championships before her second round match against Flavia Pennetta. Azarenka's withdrawal from Wimbledon ended a sequence of four consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. Following her injury-enforced early exit from Wimbledon, Azarenka returned to action at the Southern California Open, where she was the top seed. After receiving a first-round bye, she defeated Francesca Schiavone, Urszula Radwańska and Ana Ivanovic (the latter in three sets) before losing to Samantha Stosur in straight sets in the championship match. The loss to Stosur marked her first loss against her, after previously winning their first eight encounters. Azarenka was later forced to withdraw from the Rogers Cup due to a back injury she suffered in the championship match in Carlsbad. Seeded second at Cincinnati, Azarenka received a first round bye, following which she won her first match at the tournament since 2009, when she defeated local hope Vania King in the second round. That was then followed by wins over Magdaléna Rybáriková, Caroline Wozniacki (her first victory against her since 2009) and Jelena Janković, en route to reaching her fifth final of the year, where she defeated Serena Williams in a thrilling championship match to pick up her third title for the year.