Calcutta: Calcuttans will have to wait till next year to see Sania Mirza in action. Putting all speculation to rest, the glamour girl of Indian tennis announced on Monday that she was officially withdrawing from the 2007 Sunfeast Open owing to a “right wrist sprain”.

“I was really looking forward to participating here…” a statement from Sania, released by the WTA and the organisers of the Tier III meet, read.

“I am very upset that this injury is keeping me away from the courts,” added the Indian tennis icon who has been unable to practise since her third-round loss at the US Open against Anna Chakvetadze.

“My fans have always been very supportive and I was keen to perform well in Calcutta. I wish all the players, especially my compatriots, a great and exciting tournament,” the statement went.

The WTA announced the withdrawal on her behalf and Tour official Jill Hausler said the world No. 27 will be replaced by lucky loser Sandy Gumulya.

The Indonesian, who lost in the qualifiers to Ekaterina Ivanova, will face Sunitha Rao on Tuesday.

That the Indian heartthrob may actually pull out seemed likely when her much-awaited practice session at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Monday ended prematurely.

Sania’s stint with Fed Cup coach Enrico Piperno lasted all of seven minutes and at the end of it, the 21-year-old was seen shaking her hand after hitting a few regulation forehands and backhands.

In fact, Piperno confirmed that Sania’s wrist wasn’t looking too good. “She felt definite discomfort”, Piperno told The Telegraph on Monday just after practice.

“She had trouble hitting the forehands and rolling her wrist… It was not looking in good shape,” he added.

With Sania’s withdrawal, the $175000 tournament has been dealt the proverbial coup de grace. Ticket sales, never hot, are likely to plummet even further. World No. 80 Tamarine Tanasugarn and sixth-seeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet (ranked 61) had already pulled out owing to injuries.