Days after losing her first tennis match since giving birth to her daughter, Serena Williams announced Thursday that she won’t be defending her Australian Open title.
The Grand Slam champ has been given a wild card to the tournament in Melbourne that kicks off on Monday.
The 36-year-old had stated previously that it was her intention to resume her pro career at the event three months after becoming a mother.
Not ready: Serena Williams announced Thursday that she won’t be defending her Australian Open title, saying she’s still not ready three months after giving birth to her first child
Her priority: Serena, 36, welcomed daughter Alexis Olympia on September 1 and admitted that she worried about her while playing an exhibition match in Abu Dhabi last Saturday
The news comes following her loss to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in an exhibition in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.
In a message to fans shared via Snapchat, Serena explained: ‘After performing in my first match after giving birth I realized that although I am super close I’m not where I personally want to be.’
‘My coach and team always said “Only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way”. With that being said I am disappointed to say I’ve decided to not to compete in The Australian Open this year.’
She went on: ‘The memory of last year’s Open is one that I will carry with me and Olympia and I look forward to coming back again.’
She then said she appreciated the understanding and support of her fans as she takes this decision.
Serena won the competition last year when pregnant with her daughter and after taking the title, she took time off to focus on her pregnancy.
Defeated: Serena lost to French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the UAE as she returned to the court for the first time since becoming a mother
Change of plans: The Grand Slam champ had previously stated she planned to compete in Melbourne after winning the Australian Open while pregnant a year ago
The tennis pro welcomed her first child Alexis Olympia Ohanian on September 1.
She tied the knot with her baby’s father, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, in a lavish star-studded ceremony on November 16 in New Orleans.
Following her defeat in the exhibition match at the weekend, the tennis star said she wasn’t going to rate her performance in the widely anticipated ‘comeback’ match.
‘I have plenty of comebacks, from injuries, from surgeries, but I’ve never had a comeback after actually giving birth to a human being,’ she said. ‘So, in my eyes, I feel it was a wonderful, wonderful match for me.’
She did admit, however, to thinking about little Olympia during the match.
On court, she said: ‘Motherhood is phenomenal. I was a little worried out there and I looked at my camp and I was like ‘Is Olympia OK?”
‘First matches back are always super incredibly hard, especially after having a baby but it was great. I’m glad I could do it here.’
Serena had struggled with her serve and Ostapenko won 6-2, 3-6 and then 10-5 in a super tiebreaker, but the American still impressed to take a set off the No. 7-ranked Ostapenko after nearly a year away from tennis.