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Serena Williams pulls out of Italian Open in Rome

Former world number one Serena Williams has pulled out of next week's Italian Open in Rome, organizers confirmed on Wednesday.

Published: 9 May 2018 12:59 CEST
Updated: 9 May 2018 17:44 CEST

Serena Williams pulls out of Italian Open in Rome

Serena Williams winning her last Italian Open in 2016. Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Last week the 23-time Grand Slam winner pulled out of the Madrid WTA event due to a fever.

The American tennis star made her comeback in February, six months after giving birth to baby Olympia, when she competed at Indian Wells and Miami, but has admitted she is struggling to get fully fit.

A statement on the tournament's Twitter feed read:

We are so sad to announce that @serenawilliams, a 4-time Champion in Rome, has withdrawn from #ibi18. ? Obviously we can't wait to see her again on Foro Italico's red clay, perhaps in 2019? ? pic.twitter.com/CnM8tTadhY

— Internazionali Bnl (@InteBNLdItalia) May 9, 2018

Williams has won the Rome title four times in 2002, 2013, 2014 and 2016.

Rome was also the city where she met her husband Alexis Ohanian, and also the city where he proposed.

Serena Williams celebrates her first Italian Open title in 2002. Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP

Williams, 36, will now be a doubt for the French Open in Paris from May 27th to June 10th. She has won the title three times, most recently in 2015.

She won the Australian Open while pregnant and returned in February alongside her sister Venus in a US Fed Cup first-round tie. She lost to Venus in the third round at Indian Wells and to Japan's Naomi Osaka at Miami.

If she were to make her Grand Slam comeback at Roland Garros, it would be without having played a match on clay since 2016.

READ ALSO: Ten marvellously fun things to do in Italy this May

Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

Champions League: Eight arrested after fans clash with police in Naples

Three German football fans and five Italians were arrested following violence in Naples before and after Napoli’s Champions League win over Eintracht Frankfurt, a local official said on Thursday.

Six police officers were injured in violence on Wednesday evening, according to Alessandro Giuliano, who is responsible for public safety in Naples.

Police were in the process of identifying 470 German fans who arrived in the city, and were scouring images to establish those responsible for the disorder, he told a press conference.

Dozens of supporters of Atalanta also joined forces with supporters of the German side, with whom they are twinned.

The first clashes occurred on Wednesday afternoon in Naples’ historic centre, and continued after the match, an easy 3-0 win for Napoli which took them through to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time.

Shocking scenes in Napoli. For all the beauty of German fan culture, this is absolutely shameful from Eintracht Frankfurt fans. No motive can justify it.pic.twitter.com/PpMtpZeYD1

— Adriano Del Monte (@adriandelmonte) March 15, 2023

Smoke bombs and flares, chairs, bottles and metal poles were thrown at police, who responded with tear gas. Later, Napoli fans were filmed by Italian media throwing objects at buses carrying Eintracht fans.

Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi condemned the “unacceptable” violence, while opposition politicians have questioned the government’s handling of the situation, notably by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.

Napoli player Juan Jesus said the disorder was “bad for the city, and bad for football”.

“Because people come, then destroy, then leave, it’s not a good thing. It’s not possible to still see this in 2023, we are sorry to see these scenes,” he said.

The German supporters had travelled to southern Italy, with many arriving in Naples by train, even though Eintracht decided against selling tickets for the away section in Naples for the second leg of the last 16 tie.

Eintracht Frankfurt fans clash with anti-riot police after arriving in Naples despite not having tickets for their team’s Champions League decider with Napoli. (Photo by Ciro FUSCO / ANSA / AFP)

The Frankfurt club decided not to take up their allocation after the Naples prefecture decided on Sunday to ban residents of the German city from buying tickets.

A earlier Italian ban on Eintracht fans who lived anywhere in Germany was overturned.

Sunday’s decision came after violence in the first leg that was won 2-0 by Napoli in Frankfurt, which led to nine people being taken into custody.

Eintracht fans have been under close surveillance by European governing body UEFA since the pitch invasion which greeted the club reaching the final of the Europa League, which they won by beating Scottish club Rangers.

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