Venus cagey over withdrawal

2008-04-09 07:31

Amelia Island - Venus Williams refused on Tuesday to elaborate on her reasons for pulling out of the Amelia Island Championships.

After losing in the Sony Ericsson Open quarter-finals last week, she announced that she was withdrawing from the Amelia Island tournament for medical reasons.

"I've been having some issues that I need to resolve, so I'm working on that at the moment," Williams, the world number six and a six-times grand slam winner, told reporters at Amelia Island.

"I'm aiming to be back playing as soon as possible. I love this tournament and it's important for me to come and say hi to the fans and be a part of it.

"I'm not going to get any further into it. I love the sport and want to be back as soon as possible. I'm going to evaluate things week by week. Of course I want to be in Europe, I don't want to be at home watching on TV.

Williams is scheduled to play in Charleston next week.

"I plan on still maintaining my game and staying strong, but I'll keep evaluating," she said. "I'm playing good tennis and I'm ready to crack the top five. I have a lot of goals that I want to achieve so I'm very excited about moving forward in that respect."

- Reuters