Serena Williams pulls out of the Nike Clash of the Champions
As feared by most, Serena Williams of the United States retracted from the Nike Clash of the Champions exhibition which is set to be played on the 8th of March, 2011 in Eugene, Oregon. It comes as no surprise that the reason was Serena's foot injury.
Shortly after bagging the 2010 Wimbledon Women's singles title, Williams mysteriously cut her foot on a piece of glass at a restaurant in Europe. The professional is yet to have made an appearance at a tournament since.
"I'm disappointed that I won't be able to play at the NIKE Clash of the Champions as I had anticipated. I'm thrilled, however, to still be able to participate in the Family Tennis Festival and in the exhibition as a referee during the mixed doubles," stated
Williams.
All tickets to the event were sold within 11 minutes of them being available for sale. In spite of the fact that Serena was expected to participate, there were chances she would not play as her foot had not healed and she was still using a walking boot until
earlier this month.
However, Williams will be appearing at the event as a match referee. Players participating in the event will include the likes of Swiss man Roger Federer, Russia's Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal of Spain. Furthermore, Serena will be replaced by Belarus' Victoria
Azarenka.
Currently ranked No. 9 in the World, Victoria signed on to play at the Nike Clash of the Champions, to be played at the Matthew Knight Arena. Azarenka made it through to the fourth round of the recently played 2011 Australian Open but faced defeat at the hands
of finalist Li Na of China. Furthermore, the professional also made it through to the doubles final of the tournament.
Despite the fact that Williams will not be playing at the Nike exhibition, the American will be participating in the USTA Pacific Northwest Family Tennis Festival which is to be played at the practise basketball courts of the Matthew Knight Arena from 3:00
to 4:30 pm. In addition, the event is open to ticket holders aged five and over.
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