Williams latest star to skip Miami Open

Serena Williams is the latest Grand Slam champion to withdraw from the Miami Open.

Williams pulled out Sunday, citing recent oral surgery. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer announced earlier they would skip the tournament, which begins Tuesday.

Djokovic pulled out Friday, citing coronavirus restrictions.

The tournament is allowing only 750 fans on the grounds per session.

Nadal pulled out Tuesday, citing his bad back. Federer, mounting a comeback from knee surgery, withdrew March 1. They’re based overseas, as is Djokovic.

Williams has won the event a record eight times, most recently in 2015.

Baseball: The Royals gave six-time All-Star catcher Salvador Pérez a four-year, $82 million deal — the richest in club history — that will begin after his current contract in 2022. The deal ties the Venezuela native to the only organization for which he’s played until at least 2025, though a club option worth $13.5 million could keep him around for that season, too . ... Reds 1B Joey Votto returned to camp after sitting out with COVID-19. Votto, 37, left camp March 10 and had been isolated since. There’s no timetable yet for when he will play.

NBA: The league fined Raptors coach Nick Nurse $50,000 for throwing his face mask behind the scorer’s table and toward the stands, plus for directing profanity toward game officials before leaving the floor at the end of 115-112 loss to the Jazz on Friday. The Jazz took 41 free throws, compared with the Raptors’ 14 . ... The Rockets lost their team-record 20th straight game, falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-112 when John Wall missed two shots in the final 10 seconds. Houston’s skid is tied for the ninthworst in NBA history and the longest since Philadelphia’s record-setting 28-game losing streak across the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.