Serena William Withdraws From Australian Open 12 Days Before The Tournament

Serena Williams just announced that she will not be participating at this year’s Australian Open.

The professional athlete was scheduled to defend her title later this month. However, she decided to bow out of the tournament just four months after giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia.

“After performing in my first match after giving birth I realized that although I am super close I’m not where I personally want to be. My coach and team always said, ‘Only go to tournaments when you’re prepared to go all the way.’ With that being said I am disappointed to say I’ve decided not to compete in The Australian Open this year,” she said (via People).

Last month, Williams competed against French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and was defeated in an exhibition match at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.

According to the Associated Press, Williams struggled with the first round of their match and scored 6-2 in favor of Ostapenko. In the second round, she garnered a score of 3-2 in her favor. But Williams ended up losing in a super tiebreaker with a score of 10-5 in favor of the French tennis player.

In her announcement, Williams said that she will soon return to the Australian Open, but will first focus on her daughter. “The memory of last year’s Open is one that I will carry with me and Olympia and I look forward to coming back. I appreciate the support and understanding of my fans and everyone at the Australian open,” she said.

Meanwhile, Williams was already about eight weeks pregnant when she won her 23^rd Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open in January 2016. Three months later, she announced that she and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, are expecting their first child together.

In September, Williams and Ohanian welcomed Alexis Olympia. At that time, she and Ohanian were still not married. The couple wed in December and as such, has had a very busy 2017 together.