Almost all of the top 10 women in tennis are injured or have become sick as the Australian Open approaches. The latest is Angelique Kerber, who withdrew from the Sydney International with a stomach illness. The Sydney tournament had already lost fourth-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska to a leg injury and the defending champion Petra Kvitova, ranked No. 6, to a stomach virus. Last week, four other top-ranked women either retired or withdrew from tournaments because of injuries: No. 1 Serena Williams (Hopman Cup/knee), second-ranked Simona Halep (Brisbane/ankle), No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza (Brisbane/foot) and No. 5 Maria Sharapova (Brisbane/forearm).
Ninth-ranked Lucie Safarova has already withdrawn from the Australian Open with a bacterial infection, leaving No.