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Serena Williams reluctantly pulled out of this year's Australian Open on Friday, saying that while she was close to regaining full fitness after giving birth to her first child in September, she was not fully ready to defend her title.
The 36-year-old was eight weeks pregnant last year when she triumphed for a seventh time at Melbourne Park to claim an Open-era record 23rd grand slam title and then took the rest of the year off before giving birth to a daughter.
She has played just once in public since, losing to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in Abu Dhabi last week, but was still hopeful of making a remarkable return at the Australian Open until she admitted defeat a week ahead of the event.
Williams had told Vogue magazine last August about her "outrageous plan" to defend her title, but the short turnaround after giving birth has proven too much for even the greatest player of her generation.
Williams, whose grand slam tally is just one shy of the all-time record held by Australian Margaret Court, said she was disappointed to withdraw but looked forward to returning in the future.
Tournament director Craig Tiley called Williams' efforts to try and be ready for a title defence at the Australian Open "Herculean", and said she transcended the sport.
Williams is the latest big name to withdraw from this year's opening grand slam, which will be played from 15-28 January with Britain's Andy Murray (hip) and Japan's Kei Nishikori (wrist) having already said they would not compete due to injuries.
There is also uncertainty over whether former champions Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and Rafa Nadal will be fit to take to the court.
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