Pliskova pulls out of Birmingham due to elbow injury

LONDON (Reuters) - World number three Karolina Pliskova has withdrawn from next week's Aegon Classic grasscourt event in Birmingham to rest an injured elbow ahead of Wimbledon, she said on Wednesday.

"The elbow has been bothering me for a few weeks already. It needs some good rest," the 2017 French Open semi-finalist and last year's U.S. Open finalist, told the CTK news agency.

"The top (thing), of course, is Wimbledon which I need to prepare for the most."

The Aegon Classic is one of two WTA Premier level grasscourt tournaments leading up to Wimbledon, with the Eastbourne championships taking place the week after.

The 25-year-old Czech is still due to take part in Eastbourne, where she was the losing finalist last year to Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)