World No.1 Serena Williams will turn her full attention to the Australian Open after officially pulling out of the Hopman Cup in Perth.
Williams missed her opening tie against Ukraine because of inflammation in her left knee, and then retired mid-match against Australian Jarmila Wolfe on Tuesday night after struggling with the same injury.
The 34-year-old was a slim chance to return to the court for Thursday's tie against the Czech Republic.
But she officially put an end to that prospect on Wednesday night, with Vicky Duval to take her place.
Williams was lured to the Hopman Cup as its major drawcard, but she only managed less than an hour on court.
World No.9 Lucie Safarova (illness), Australian Casey Dellacqua (concussion), and flamboyant Frenchman Gael Monfils (leg) were all forced to withdraw from the mixed-teams tournament before it even began.
Williams will now turn her attention to getting her body ready for her Australian Open defence.
The 21-time grand slam champion is confident her knee will recover in time to take part in the first major of the year.
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