NEW DELHI, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Australian Open champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week's WTA event in southern Indian city Bangalore, organizers said on Saturday.
"Serena failed to board the flight to Bangalore because of a bad flu," said Sunder Rajan, the chief organizer of the 175,000-dollar event starting on Monday.
"We came to know that she did not take the flight only this morning. It is very disappointing. We were all looking forward to her first visit to India."
The 25-year-old, who won her eighth Grand Slam by beating world number one Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final last month, had said earlier she was excited to play in India.
Serena's last-minute withdrawal means local favourite Sania Mirza will be the star attraction at the tournament which also features Alicia Molik of Australia, Mara Santangelo of Italy and Jelena Kostanic of Croatia.
