China`s Zheng to miss Australian Open

Zheng will miss the Australian Open as she continues to recover from a wrist surgery.

Beijing: Chinese number two Zheng Jie will miss next month`s Australian Open, where she went to the semi-finals in 2010, as she continues to recover from wrist surgery, state media said Monday.

Zheng, 27, said she was still not ready to get back on court following an injury to her left wrist that plagued her throughout the year and ended her season following the US Open.Zheng is currently number 26 in the WTA Tour rankings, but will see that number drop after the first Grand Slam of 2011 at Melbourne Park, as she will lose the points she earned from her semi-final run this year. "I did withdraw from next year`s Australian Open. It is a hard decision for me to make. I have plenty of good memories and experiences there," Zheng said in a post on microblogging site Twitter. "But I believe there will be more Australian Opens for me to attend if I can regain my health." Zheng aggravated the injury in a run to the women`s doubles semi-finals at the US Open. She then underwent surgery, forcing her to miss the rest of the season including the Asian Games in Guangzhou.The Chengdu native hopes to make her 2011 debut at the PTT Pattaya Open in Thailand in February. China`s number one Li Na, also a semi-finalist at Melbourne Park in 2010, is expected to be action at the Australian Open, which runs from January 17 to 30. Bureau Report