<p>The men's competition in Beijing also suffered a major setback earlier this week when world number one Novak Djokovic pulled out with a back injury. <br /><br />World number two Sharapova twisted her ankle against Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the Pan-Pacific Open quarterfinals on Thursday and was forced to quit the Tokyo tournament. <br /><br />“The good news is the MRI scan showed no big damage to my ankle. I will do my best to recover in time for Istanbul (the WTA season-ending championship)," the Russian said on her website (www.mariasharapova.com). <br /><br />Former world number one Williams has pulled out of the Beijing event for the second year in a row. <br /><br />The tournament website (www.chinaopen.com) said the American was due to arrive in the city on Friday but failed to show up. <br /><br />Her absence means neither of the crowd-pulling Williams sisters will be in attendance after Venus pulled out last month.</p>
<p>The men's competition in Beijing also suffered a major setback earlier this week when world number one Novak Djokovic pulled out with a back injury. <br /><br />World number two Sharapova twisted her ankle against Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the Pan-Pacific Open quarterfinals on Thursday and was forced to quit the Tokyo tournament. <br /><br />“The good news is the MRI scan showed no big damage to my ankle. I will do my best to recover in time for Istanbul (the WTA season-ending championship)," the Russian said on her website (www.mariasharapova.com). <br /><br />Former world number one Williams has pulled out of the Beijing event for the second year in a row. <br /><br />The tournament website (www.chinaopen.com) said the American was due to arrive in the city on Friday but failed to show up. <br /><br />Her absence means neither of the crowd-pulling Williams sisters will be in attendance after Venus pulled out last month.</p>