By Xinhua
Beijing : Defending champion and world number two Svetlana Kuznetsova Wednesday announced her withdrawal from the on-going China Open tennis tournament due to abdominal muscle injury.
“I am very sorry to quit the China Open. I’d like to play the China Open and bring more fun here, but when I got up this morning, my abdomen is getting worse and worse although I received treatments yesterday,” said Kuznetsova at a press conference just ahead of her second round match against American Abigail Spears.
“This season I played too many Fed Cup matches, and I think it’s an honour to play for my country, but the doctor said it would be dangerous to keep on playing like this, so I decided to save more energy for next season,” the 22-year-old added.
The Russian got the top billing in the $600,000 event after world number one Justine Henin pulled out. She has had a remarkably consistent season on the tour, winning the title in New Haven as well as runner-up finishes at five other events, including the just concluded US Open where she lost to Henin in the final.