Serena Williams withdraws from Pan Pacific Open

After a long summer of competition, Serena Williams has chosen to withdraw from the Pan Pacific Open. (Darren Carroll/SI) Serena Williams has withdrawn from

Courtney Nguyen | Sep 19, 2013

Serena Williams withdraws from Pan Pacific Open /

After a long summer of competition, Serena Williams has chosen to withdraw from the Pan Pacific Open. (Darren Carroll/SI)

Serena Williams has withdrawn from next week's Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, citing fatigue after a busy summer schedule.

Williams won titles in 2000 and '02 in her only two appearances in Tokyo. She has played in Asia only once since 2005.

"I'm disappointed to have to withdraw from the Pan Pacific Open, which I was very much looking forward to playing this year," Williams said. "Unfortunately, with the number of matches I have played throughout the summer, I need more time to properly recover."

Since losing in the fourth round of Wimbledon, Williams has played 22 matches across four tournaments. Her heaviest summer schedule ever culminated with a U.S. Open title two weeks ago. With a month and a half remaining in the season, Williams has already played 71 matches this year (67-4), surpassing her previous career high of 62 from 2012.

Published Sep 19, 2013

COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.