Williams Withdraws from Australian Open

Defending champion Serena Williams will miss January’s Australian Open after the 29 year-old who has been inactive competitively since winning Wimbledon in July has opted to give herself even more time to recover from foot surgery.
 
As previously reported in Daily Tennis News, Williams has also withdrawn from the year- opening Hopman Cup in Perth and the former world no.1’s next projected comeback date would appear to be the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami in March. 
"As I continue to rehabilitate my foot after the second surgery last month, it is with the utmost regret that I am withdrawing from the Hopman Cup and the 2011 Australian Open Championships," said Serena who initially received the injury treading on broken glass in a Munich bar.
 
"As I recently learned, pushing myself back into my intense training too early only caused me further injury and damage.”
 
There have been a series of projected comeback dates that have been aborted and recently Serena was photographed at a Miami Dolphins football game again wearing a surgical boot to protect the foot.
 
Williams reportedly suffered "further injury and damage" after returning to intense training following the second operation on her foot in October. She continued: "While I desperately want to be back on the court and competing in the first grand slam tournament of the year, it is imperative for my health that I continue to work with my doctors to ensure my foot heals properly.
 
"This decision, though heavy on my heart, is the right one. I am praying for a healthy recovery and I promise my Aussie fans and my fans around the world that I will be back better than ever as soon as I can be."