Newly crowned U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters has pulled out of the 2010 China Open scheduled to start on Saturday, organizers said on Tuesday.
According to the organizers, Clijsters quit the tournament due to a foot injury. The 27-year-old, who underwent a surgery on her right foot after her title-winning feat in New York, expressed her disappointment to the organizers through e-mail.
The world 5th-ranked Belgian romped past Vera Zvonareva of Russia in two sets, grabbing her third U.S. Open title early this month.
It was the second straight time for Clijsters to miss the joint WTA/ATP tournament at the last moment. The Belgian, who did not play from 2006 to 2008 to start a family, asked for a wild card to compete in last year's China Open, but failed to be present due to personal reasons.
Clijsters is not the only high-ranked player to withdraw from 2010 China Open. Top seed Serena Williams, the current world No. 1 , has already decided to skip the event because of an uncanny foot injury.
The 29-year-old American cut her foot on broken glass at a restaurant shortly after winning her fourth Wimbledon crown in July.
China's Zheng Jie has also withdrawn from China Open slated for Oct. 2-10 with a wrist injury, which reportedly needs three to six months to recover.
In spite of the absence of Clijsters, Serena Williams and Zheng, many big names in the women's game have confirmed their participation including former world No. 1 Marina Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic as well as Jelena Jankovic.
On the men's side, U.S. Open finalist Novak Djokovic will defend his title in Beijing against Britain's Andy Murray, and Sweden's Robin Soderling.