Tennis-Venus withdraws from Los Angeles Classic

By Matthew Cronin

STANFORD, Calif., July 18 (Reuters) - Wimbledon champion Venus Williams has withdrawn from next week's Los Angeles Classic with tendonitis in her right knee, tournament organisers said on Friday.

Williams has not played a tour match since beating her sister Serena for her fifth Wimbledon title nearly two weeks ago.

Jelena Jankovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Serena Williams are the event's top three seeds.

Lindsay Davenport was also forced to pull out of the event due to a knee injury. (Editing by Peter Rutherford)