Dubai: Top seeds Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber have withdrawn from the WTA Tennis Championships, organisers announced on Saturday. "We regret to announce that Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber have withdrawn due to illness and injury," the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships wrote on their official Twitter account ahead of the draw.

The news is a double blow for organisers with Williams and Kerber, the world's top two players, seeded number one and two respectively. The 28-year-old German shocked Williams, 34, in the Australian Open final last month to win her first Grand Slam title. Williams, whose pullout was her third in four years on short notice in Dubai, said: "I'm disappointed to have to withdraw from the Dubai Tennis Championships.