Serena Williams not ready to return

Serena Williams’ absence from the WTA Tour will continue into October after she announced her withdrawal from tournaments in Tokyo and Beijing.

The world number one has still not fully recovered from surgery to her right foot, which she cut on broken glass at a restaurant shortly after retaining her Wimbledon title in July.

The injury forced Williams to withdraw from the US Open and she has now announced she will not be playing at the Pan Pacific Open or the China Open, which are both Premier tournaments.

The 28-year-old American said in a statement: “While I have continued to make progress in the recovery of my foot injury, unfortunately I am still not ready to compete at the upcoming Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and China Open in Beijing.

“These are both fantastic events with loyal fans that I hope to be able to compete in next season. In the meantime I am focused on my rehab program and remain optimistic to return to competition this season.”

Williams’ next scheduled event is the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, which begin on October 25 and for which she has not yet qualified despite winning two of the four grand slams.