Top-ranked Williams withdraws from China Open
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Serena Williams of the United States celebrates match point during her women's singles semifinal match against Sara Errani of Italy on Day Twelve of the 2012 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in this Sept 7, 2012 file photo. China Open organisers say top-ranked Serena Williams has withdrawn from the tournament with illness. -- PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING (AP) - China Open organisers say top-ranked Serena Williams has withdrawn from the tournament with illness.
The tournament's official Chinese-language microblog posted a message on late Thursday saying: "This is regrettable news and we hope Serena Williams will get well soon."
Her place in the tournament, which starts on Saturday in Beijing, will be Switzerland's Romina Oprandi.
Williams' own Twitter account carried a short message saying "Flu no fun," but made no mention of the China Open. Williams also missed last year's tournament with an injury.
