Injuries Force Agassi, Seles Out of Season-Ending Events

Nagging injuries appear to be getting the best of Andre Agassi and Monica Seles.

Agassi, still suffering from a pectoral muscle strain he sustained in September, pulled out of the season-ending ATP Tour World Championship in Frankfurt, Germany, denying the second-ranked player a chance to finish No. 1 for the year. Current No. 1 Pete Sampras and Thomas Muster will battle for that honor.

Meanwhile, Seles has withdrawn from next week’s WTA Tour Championships in New York.

Seles, ranked co-No. 1 with Steffi Graf, has been suffering from tendinitis in her left knee since her return to tennis last August. That--and a sprained right ankle--prompted her to withdraw from a tournament at Oakland last week.

She has played in two tournaments since returning to the tour after being stabbed in the back during a tournament in April of 1993. She won at Toronto, then lost to Graf in the final of the U.S. Open.

Her injuries call into question Seles’ availability for the U.S. Fed Cup team. The U.S. team will play defending champion Spain at the end of the month and Seles must participate in the Fed Cup to be eligible to play in the Olympic Games.