Serena pulls out of Italian Open

ROME: Former world number one Serena Williams has pulled out of next week’s Italian Open in Rome, organisers confirmed on Wednesday.

Last week the 23-time Grand Slam winner pulled out of the Madrid WTA event due to a fever.The American tennis star made her comeback in February, six months after giving birth to baby Olympia, when she competed at Indian Wells and Miami, but has admitted she is struggling to get fully fit.

A statement on the tournament’s Twitter feed read: “We are so sad to announce that @serenawilliams, a 4-time Champion in Rome, has withdrawn from #ibi18.“Obviously we can’t wait to see her again on Foro Italico’s red clay, perhaps in 2019?”

Williams has won the Rome title four times in 2002, 2013, 2014 and 2016.Rome was also the city where she met her husband Alexis Ohanian, and also the city where he proposed.Williams, 36, will now be a doubt for the French Open in Paris from May 27 to June 10. She has won the title three times, most recently in 2015.