Following in the footsteps of her sister Serena last week in Wuhan, Venus Williams has officially bowed out of the China Open on Thursday afternoon citing a viral illness.

It is an unfortunate situation for Williams, who had dispatched Heather Watson with ease, and then picked up a similarly quick win over Caroline Garcia in the second round of the tournament. Williams’ victory had set up an anticipated rematch against Petra Kvitova, who beat the former world No. 1 en route to lifting her second Wimbledon title.

.@VenusesWilliams withdraws from @ChinaOpen with a viral illness. @Petra_Kvitova receives walkover into QFs–> http://t.co/3cQLqeoUu0 #WTA

— WTA (@WTA) October 2, 2014

Kvitova, who began her run in Beijing with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over local favourite Peng Shuai, advanced to the quarter-final round via walkover. She is coming off a title win in Wuhan and is looking to use that momentum to further her campaign at the China Open.

“I feel really good on the court,” she said. “I know I can play good tennis because of last week in Wuhan. My confidence is a little bit higher than it was after the US Open. I worked hard before I came to Asia. I knew I had to really fight for Singapore – everybody’s playing so well and fighting. “I feel a little bit relaxed that I made it already. And I’m enjoying it.”