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Williams, Federer pull out of entire IPTL tournament

SINGAPORE — First it was Serena Williams. Now, another top name — 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer — will be missing from the roster of players competing in this week’s International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

SINGAPORE — First it was Serena Williams. Now, another top name — 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer — will be missing from the roster of players competing in this week’s International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

The IPTL confirmed in a statement issued yesterday — the opening day of the Singapore leg, held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium — that the two former world No 1s had pulled out of the tournament in Singapore and India due to the financial challenges faced by the organisers.

Mahesh Bhupathi, founder and managing director of IPTL, attributed the woes to the uncertainty in India sparked by the government’s decision to withdraw high-denomination notes from circulation. The announcement, made last month, triggered chaos across India, with people standing in long queues outside the banks as a shortage of new bank notes resulted in rationing of cash withdrawals.

“We have had challenges this year, and we were hoping to get past them,” said Bhupathi. “With the current economic climate in India and the uncertainty of spending money, I reached out to both Roger and Serena to explain the situation. They have been both been very supportive of the IPTL in the first two seasons and we look forward to bringing them back in future years.”

The IPTL was set to mark Swiss ace Federer’s return to the sport after a five-month hiatus due to a knee injury. It would have also seen Williams — who competed here last year — back in action, after a lingering shoulder injury forced the American superstar to pull out of the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore in October.

The Singapore leg will see the likes of Sania Mirza (Indian Aces), Nick Kyrgios (OUE Singapore Slammers), Ana Ivanovic and Martina Hingis (UAE Royals), as well as former players Carlos Moya and Marat Safin in action today and tomorrow.

The tournament will travel to Hyderabad, India, on Friday. LOW LIN FHOONG

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