The world’s top tennis player, Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week's Madrid Open because of illness. Serena said in a statement on the tournament's website: 'Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from Madrid because I've been battling the flu and I'm not at 100 per cent. I look forward to returning soon.'


Williams has played only three tournaments this season and is yet to win a title, losing in the final of the Australian Open and at Indian Wells before a fourth-round exit in Miami a month ago.

Should the 34-year-old also miss the tournament in Rome in a fortnight, she would go into the French Open without having played on clay since last summer.