Serena Williams Pulls Out of Australian Open

Serena Williams Pulls Out of Australian Open

Serena Williams has announced her withdrawal from the upcoming Australian Open which starts on 15 January due to fitness reasons.

The Star said while she was close to regaining full fitness after giving birth to her first child in September, she was not fully ready to defend her title.

The36-year-old was 8 weeks pregnant last year when she triumphed for a 7th time at Melbourne Park to claim an Open-era record 23rd grand slam title and then took the rest of the year off before giving birth to a daughter.

Serena has played just once in public since, losing to French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko in Abu Dhabi last week, but was still hopeful of making a remarkable return at the Australian Open until she admitted defeated a week ahead of the event.

“My coach and team always said ‘only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way’. I can compete – but I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time, ”

“The memory of last year’s Open is one that I will carry with me, and Olympia and I look forward to coming back again.” Williams said in a statement.