Former world number 1 Amelie Mauresmo has announced that she will not play in the US Open saying she would not be fit enough in time for the last of the year's Grand Slam events.
The 28-year-old French woman has struggled with injuries and motivation all year having taken two months off in March to recover from an appendix operation.
She lost in the third round in the French Open, in the fourth round at Wimbledon, where she was the defending champion, and since then has played only in France's Fed Cup loss to Italy in mid-July where she went down to Francesca Schiavone.
‘As I explained several weeks ago, I need to take the necessary time off to get my motivation back and to get back to my top level,’ Mauresmo said on her website.
‘I have been keeping physically fit in my absence from the courts, but I have not picked up a racquet and under those conditions I would have no hopes of mounting a serious challenge at the US Open.’
The US Open starts at Flushing Meadow, New York on 27 August.
Mauresmo said that next week she would undergo treatment on the groin injury that she said had been troubling her for the last year.
She said she was planning to play again at the China Open in Beijing from September 17-23 followed by the indoor season after that.
