Jelena Dokic has withdrawn from next week's adidas International in Sydney and is again expected to sidestep the Australian Open, extending her absence at the season-opening tennis major to three years.
Dokic, ranked No. 15, pulled out of a New Zealand tournament this week saying she had personal details to resolve. The WTA Tour has notified adidas International organizers that the former Australian No. 1 was withdrawing from the Sydney tournament which starts Monday.
"I'm really disappointed that I won't be able to compete in the adidas International, but I really need to spend a little more time training in order to play my best tennis," Dokic, 20, said in a statement.
"It's important to me to start the year strong and I think the fans in Australia deserve nothing less than every player's absolute best tennis."
In November, Dokic said she would end her self-imposed exile from Australia to play in the Australian Open, starting Jan. 19. Dokic fled after her first-round loss at the 2001 Australian Open when her father accused officials of fixing the draw.
She had previously represented Australia at Hopman Cup and Fed Cup.
Dokic remains entered in the 2004 Australian Open representing the country of her birth, Yugoslavia, now known as Serbia-Montenegro.
Although her father, Damir Dokic, told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper that his daughter informed him "10 or 15 days ago" that she wouldn't be playing in Australia.
"When we left Australia we had plenty of problems and she doesn't want to play the Australian Open," Damir Dokic was quoted saying in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald.
Dokic had been estranged from her family after starting a relationship with Brazilian racing driver Enrique Benoldi, but Damir Dokic said his daughter was back in the fold.
"She saw that when she was with her family she had everything and when she went away her results went bad. Things are normal now ... but she doesn't like to talk about what she did."
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