Clijsters pulls out of Aus Open

Melbourne:

Kim Clijsters has pulled out of the first Grand Slam event of the year, the Australian Open, because of her persistent wrist injury. The Belgian, who reached the final of the Australian Open in 2004, will not travel to Melbourne for the tournament, which begins on 17 January. Clijsters has not played since the October 2, 2004, but has said that she expects to be back in action soon. She intends to make her comeback at the Antwerp Proximus Diamond Games on February 14. Clijsters had had an operation on her left wrist early in the season last year but injured it again on her return to the tour. The 21-year-old is still ranked 22nd in the world despite only playing a handful of matches last season.