Watson has glandular fever

London - Britain's No 1 female tennis player, Heather Watson, revealed on Wednesday that she has been diagnosed with glandular fever.

The 20-year-old's form has dipped since she reached the third round of the Australian Open in January, with first-round defeats in the recent tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.

After losing to Ayumi Morita in Miami, Watson said she needed a break from the sport, only to then retract her statement and claim she had merely been disappointed by the result.

However, she was forced to pull out of this week's tournament in Charleston and blood tests have since confirmed that she is suffering from glandular fever.

"I had to do some blood tests after Miami and the results have shown that I have traces of glandular fever in my system," Watson said on the website of British governing body the Lawn Tennis Association.

"There is no prescription for this other than complete rest but the good news is that the doctors have told me I am at the tail-end of the fever. This means I have been trying to compete through the symptoms for some time."