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SERENA WILLIAMS OUT OF ITALIAN OPEN WITH ACHILLES PROBLEM

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Serena Williams has pulled out of the Italian Open starting on Monday due to an Achilles injury, the former world number one confirmed on Saturday (Sept 12).

Williams’ bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title ended with a defeat to Victoria Azarenka at the US Open on Thursday, a match in which she took a medical timeout to have her left ankle re-taped due to the Achilles problem.

“I regretfully must withdraw from The Internazionali BNL d’Italia due to an Achilles strain,” Williams, a four-times winner in Rome, said in a statement.

“I’m so humbled by the continuous support from my fans in Rome and I look forward to making my return soon.”

Double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu and top-ranked Ash Barty have also pulled out of the tournament.

Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev, who will contest the US Open men’s final on Sunday, have withdrawn from the event, the organisers said in a statement.

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-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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