Serena Williams Has Withdrawn From Next Week’s Bastad Open

Serena Williams officially announced that she will not play the claycourt Bastad Open in Sweden next week. The World No. 1 is still recovering from an mystery illness after infamously retiring from her Wimbledon third round doubles match last Tuesday.

“I want to be in perfect condition to go back on court, but unfortunately it’s not the case,” she said in a statement. “I really hope to be able to get back to training from next week.

“I want to thank all my fans and the event organisers, for their support and comprehension.

“Bastad was my favourite tournament I played in last year, thus I am very disappointed not to come back there. But there is still next, year, so I can’t wait to go back there.”

The 32-year-old Williams is scheduled to now play in Stanford at the end of the month. Serena, who lost to Alize Cornet in the third round at Wimbledon, has won just six Grand Slam matches this year. She will try and defend her US Open title starting next month.