Tags
World number one Serena Williams on Tuesday become the latest high-profile name to pull out of the Qatar Open, citing flu for her withdrawal.
It is the latest blow for organisers coming less than a week after Maria Sharapova pulled out of the Doha tournament which starts on February 21 with an arm injury.
"I unfortunately have to withdraw from the Qatar Total Open as I have come down with the flu and do not feel 100%," said Williams in a statement released through the Qatar Tennis Federation.
"I need to take this time to recover but I do look forward to returning to Doha and seeing my fans soon."
Tournament director Saad al-Mohannadi admitted the competition would "miss the presence" of Williams.
The American was a finalist at the 2013 tournament where she lost in three sets to Victoria Azarenka.
Earlier this week it was announced that the 34-year-old had pulled out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis tournament, currently taking place in the UAE, because of flu.
Her withdrawal rules out any chance of an immediate possible revenge clash against Anqelique Kerber, the German who beat Williams at the Australian Open final in January.
Simona Halep, the world number two, replaces Williams as the Qatar Open number one seed.
Other players scheduled to start in Doha include Garbine Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova.
There are no comments.
SPORT Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
TECHNOLOGY Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
CULTURE Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
ARABIA The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
ARABIA Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
ARABIA The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
ECONOMY Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.
