Justine Henin will not launch her 2008 clay campaign until she hits the courts in her native Europe.
The four-time Roland Garros champion has pulled out of next week’s Family Circle Cup.
Henin, the No. 1 player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, has decided to withdraw because of a right knee injury.
“Justine had to withdraw from Charleston,” wrote Henin’s website on Thursday. “She felt slight twinges of light pain on her right knee, and elected to avoid putting herself at risk for further complications.”
The Family Circle Cup officially announced Venus Williams’ withdrawal from the Tier I tournament on Wednesday.
Henin is now expected to play her first tournament on clay in May at Berlin’s Qatar Telecom German Open.
