Serena Williams reluctantly pulled out of this year's Australian Open on Friday, the American saying that 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. She 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 defeat a week ahead of the event. "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." Tournament director Craig Tiley called Williams' efforts to try and be ready for a title defence at the Australian Open "Herculean" and said she transcended the sport.

Source: dna January 05, 2018 01:52 UTC