The organizers of the China Open revealed that world number four Serena Williams has withdrawn her participation in the tournament, which begins on Saturday, due to illness. This seemed to match with Serena’s recent tweet stating “Flu no fun” though she did make reference to the tournament. The American tennis superstar will be replaced by Romina Oprandi of Switzerland in the draw.
Williams’ aim to end the year as world number one has hit a setback with this withdrawal as higher-ranked players Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska have committed to play in a number of fall events. The Wimbledon 2012 champion and London Olympics gold medalist is slated to compete at the year-end championships in Istanbul.
