Second-seeded Kim Clijsters withdraws from Wimbledon

Not long after the Wimbledon seedings were announced Wednesday, the women's field was shaken up as No. 2 seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium withdrew a day after injuring her right foot at the UNICEF Open in the Netherlands.

"At this moment I feel frustrated that it has to happen now before one of my favorite tournaments," Clijsters said in a statement. "I've always enjoyed being a part of the Wimbledon atmosphere but I have no other choice now but to rest, recover and to not play tennis for a few weeks.”

Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki remains seeded No. 1, but the rest of the seeded players move up a notch. That includes defending champion Serena Williams, who is now seeded seventh, 19 spots higher than her world ranking.

Venus Williams is now the No. 23 seed, 10 places above her world ranking. Both Williams sisters, who have won nine of the last 11 Wimbledon titles, have just returned from extended layoffs due to injuries and other medical issues.

"The seeding order follows the WTA ranking list, except where in the opinion of the committee, a change is necessary to produce a balanced draw," said organizers of the two-week tournament that starts Monday at the All England Club. "The only changes this year are Serena Williams and Venus Williams. ... This reflects the balance between their proven records and also their lack of competitive play in the past 12 months."

See the complete men's and women's Wimbledon seedings below (world ranking in parenthesis).

Nadal, Wozniacki lead lineup for Indian Wells

The lineup for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells was announced Wednesday and includes the top three players on the men's and women's tours: Rafael Nadal and Caroline Wozniacki (No. 1), Roger Federer and Vera Zvonareva (No. 2) and Novak Djokovic and Kim Clijsters (No. 3). The tournament runs March 7-20.

Nadal, however, appeared to suffer a thigh injury Wednesday in his quarterfinal match at the Australian Open against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and wound up losing, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

Wozniacki, a finalist at last year's BNP Paribas Open, is seeking her first Grand Slam title this week at the Australian Open and is into the semifinals.

Federer, the only man to win the BNP Paribas Open three years in a row (2004-2006), will face Djokovic in Thursday's semifinal at the Australian Open.

The Indian Wells tournament will also feature defending women's champion Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic (2008), Daniela Hantuchova (2007, 2002), and Maria Sharapova (2006); on the men’s side, defending champion Ivan Ljubicic and Lleyton Hewitt (2001-2002) join Nadal, Federer and Djokovic as former champions in the draw.

Others in the field: Robin Soderling, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Ferrer, Andy Roddick, Fernando Verdasco, Mikhail Youhzny, Samantha Stosur, Francesca Schiavone, Mardy Fish, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Sam Querrey, Melanie Oudin, John Isner and the world No. 1 doubles team, Mike and Bob Bryan.

And something new at Indian Wells: the Hawkeye replay technology and video displays will be on all eight match courts.

--Debbie Goffa

Photo: Caroline Wozniacki. Credit: William West / AFP