Venus Williams is doubtful for next month's Australian Open after pulling out of the ASB Classic in Auckland with her ongoing health issues.
Williams has been suffering with Sjorgen's syndrome, a condition she has had for many years which was finally diagnosed in the summer. It forced her to pull out of the US Open in August but after competing in a number of off season exhibition matches (she played Victoria Azarenka in the Bahamas recently) she had been hoping to play a full 2012 schedule.
However she told her agent Carlos Fleming that she will not be fit to compete in Auckland.
"We are disappointed to have lost a player of her calibre," Auckland tournament director Richard Palmer commented. "Only last month she was reported saying she was looking forward to her first tournament of the year in Auckland and had heard great things about the ASB Classic. Her goal was to play a full schedule next year."While withdrawals of this nature are part and parcel of sport, we sincerely feel for the fans who will also be disappointed by the news of Venus's withdrawal."
The ASB Classic still boasts a strong field with four of the world's top 20. Rising stars Peng Shuai and Sabine Lisicki are competing, along with two time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and former world number ten Flavia Pennetta.
