Foot infection rules Kim Clijsters out of China Open

Clijsters now has three US Open titles to her name

US Open champion Kim Clijsters will miss next month's China Open after developing a foot infection.

The Belgian tweeted on Tuesday that she "had a mole removed under my right foot and the wound got infected".

She also confirmed on her website that she had withdrawn from the 2-10 October hard-court event in Beijing.

"I'm very sorry to have to cancel," said the 27-year-old Clijsters. "The wound on my sole is healing really bad - playing tennis is not possible."

After beating Vera Zvonareva to claim her third US Open title on 11 September, Clijsters took a break to have the minor operation.

Currently number five in this week's WTA rankings, she also posted a link to a photo on Twitter on Tuesday showing the wound on the bottom of her foot.

On Saturday, world number one Serena Williams announced she would not play at the China Open because she is still recovering after cutting her right foot on broken glass in a restaurant in July.