Serena, Murray out for Australian Open
Defending champion Serena Williams withdrew from the Australian Open on Friday, saying she is not ready to return to tournament tennis.
The season’s first major starts on Jan. 15 at Melbourne Park, and seventime Australian Open champion Williams will be missing it for the first time since 2011.
Williams was pregnant with her first child when she won here last year to collect her Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam singles title.
She gave birth to her daughter, Alexis, in September.
Williams played in an exhibition tournament last week in Abu Dhabi and indicated after her loss to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko that she might not make it to Melbourne.
“After competing in Abu Dhabi, I realized that although I am super close, I’m not where I personally want to be,” Williams said in a statement released by Australian Open organizers.
Williams, 36, needs one more Grand Slam singles title to equal the all-time record held by Margaret Court, who won 24 titles before and during the Open era.
Her withdrawal comes less than 24 hours after fellow former world No. 1 Andy Murray withdrew from the men’s event with a chronic hip injury.
“Sadly I won’t be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete,” Murray said in a statement. “I’ll be flying home shortly to assess all the options but I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon.”
Former No. 1-ranked Murray, a three-time major winner, has not played a competitive match since a quarterfinal exit at Wimbledon last July.
In a heartfelt social media post earlier in the week, Murray, 30, contemplated surgery as an option after failing to overcome the pain with rest and rehabilitation. In other tennis news: • Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic advanced Switzerland into the Hopman Cup final with straight-set singles victories over their American opponents at Perth, Australia. Federer beat Jack Sock 7-6 (5), 7-5 before Bencic defeated CoCo Vandeweghe 7-6 (6), 6-4 to give Switzerland a winning 2-0 edge and first place in Group B. Switzerland will play the Group A winner in Saturday’s final at Perth Arena. Germany, which has won both its group matches, can advance to play Switzerland if it beats Australia on Friday.
• Maria Sharapova continued her preparations for an Australian Open return by beating Zarina Diyas 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the Shenzhen Open semifinals along with top-seeded Simona Halep. Sharapova will play defending champion and No. 6-seeded Katerina Siniakov, who beat Kristyna Pliskova 6-2, 6-2, for a place in the final. Halep eased into the semifinals with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Aryna Sabalenka.
• Brazilian player Thomaz Bellucci received a five-month suspension for doping. Bellucci, 30, who reached a career high of 21 in the rankings in 2010, said a sample he provided last July at the Swedish Open at Bastad tested positive for the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide, which can mask other substances. Bellucci said the positive test was the result of a contaminated vitamin supplement. Bellucci, who is ranked 112th, has not played since August. He expects to return at the ATP tournament in Quito, Ecuador, on Feb. 5.