Former world number one Serena Williams has withdrawn from this year’s month’s Australian Open in Melbourne. Williams, who recently gave birth, said on Friday that she needed more time to be ready to defend her title. She 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.
The 36-year-old was eight weeks pregnant last year when she triumphed for a seventh time at Melbourne Park to claim an Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam title. The American then took the rest of the year off before giving birth to a daughter.
She has played just once in public since, losing to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in Abu Dhabi last week.
But she was still hopeful of making a remarkable return at the Australian Open until she admitted defeat 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 don’t want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time,” Williams said in a statement.
Williams had told Vogue magazine last August about her “outrageous plan” to defend her title. But the short turnaround after giving birth has proven too much for even the greatest player of her generation.
Williams, whose Grand Slam tally is just one shy of the all-time record held by Australian Margaret Court, said she was disappointed to withdraw but looked forward to returning in the future.
“After competing in Abu Dhabi I realised that although I am super close, I‘m not where I personally want to be,” Williams added. "With that being said, and even though I am disappointed about it, I’ve decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year.”
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said: "I've been in constant contact with Serena and her team and know this is why she has pushed it and pushed it until the 11th hour to make her final decision.
"Serena transcends the sport in the way she approaches all aspects of her life. It was never going to be good enough for her to just compete."
It is the first time since 2011 that Williams has missed the tournament. On Thursday, men's world number four Kei Nishikori withdrew because of a wrist injury.
There are also doubts over the fitness of Spanish world number one Rafael Nadal and Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka, who won the title in 2014. Serb Novak Djokovic, a six-time Australian Open champion, may also miss out with an elbow injury.
