Serena Williams pulls out of China Open due to foot injury

BEIJING - American tennis ace Serena Williams, who is recuperating from her foot injury, has pulled out of next month’s China Open.

Williams has still not fully recovered from surgery to her right foot, which she cut on broken glass at a restaurant shortly after retaining her Wimbledon title in July.

The China Open gets under way in Beijing on October 2.

She had already announced that she would not take part in next week’s Pan Pacific Open in Japan.

“While I have continued to make progress in the recovery of my foot injury, unfortunately I am still not ready to compete at the upcoming Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and China Open in Beijing,” Xinhua news agency quoted Williams, as saying in a statement.

“These are both fantastic events with loyal fans that I hope to be able to compete in next season. In the meantime I am focused on my rehab program and remain optimistic to return to competition this season,” she added.

Serena’s next scheduled event is the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, which begin on October 25. (ANI)