COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil -- U.S. Open runner-up Venus Williams withdrew from the $1.2 million Brazil Open, saying she needed to rest.

Williams, who lost the final of the U.S. Open to her sister, Serena, on Saturday, pulled out of the tournament Sunday.

"I feel that, after a long season on synthetic courts, it's best for me to rest,'' Williams wrote in a note released by promoters.

The second-ranked Williams was the tournament's top seed. Yugoslavia's Jelena Dokic becomes the tournament's top seed, and Monica Seles becomes the No. 2 seed.

Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela, the tournament's top-ranked men's player, withdrew because of a back injury.