Friday, October 6 2006 14:35 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Stuttgart: France's world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo expressed her disappointment at being forced to pull out of the 650,000 dollar WTA tournament here Thursday but said throbbing pain in her shoulder had left her with no choice.

The 27-year-old Mauresmo, who had yet to play in the competition, revealed she first felt pain in her shoulder in Monday's training session and it did not go away.

"I am bitterly disappointed to pull out. It is a hard decision but the right one," said Mauresmo. Top seed Mauresmo was due to face Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands in her second round match on yesterday (Oct 5, 2006).

It is a real blow for Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Mauresmo who was a runner-up here for the past two years and hoped to go one better this time around.

"Her loss is a big blow, not just because she is the world number one, but because she has played here several times before, and after losing the last two finals, she had a great shot at winning it this year," said tournament director Markus Gunthardt.

Organisers confirmed that American Lisa Raymond, who lost in the qualifying round, would take Mauresmo's place and face Krajicek.