MOSCOW, Oct 4: World No 1 Serena Williams has pulled out of the Kremlin Cup with a knee injury, tournament organisers said on Friday.

“My left ankle has been bothering me since the US Open and I need to take a break now to get it back to 100 percent,” the US Open champion was quoted as saying by the Moscow organisers.

“I have played a lot this year and my body needs to recover.

“My goal is to try and get the number one ranking back,” said the American, who will relinquish the No 1 spot to Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic when the new rankings are released on Monday.

Williams reached the final last year in Moscow, losing to Elena Dementieva.

Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also withdrew because of an abdominal injury.

The women’s field is the strongest in the 19-year history of the $2.3 million tournament, which starts in Moscow on Monday, with eight of the world’s top 10 players taking part.

Only Williams and world No 6 Maria Sharapova, who is nursing shoulder injury, are absent.—Reuters