Reigning Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhova will miss the skiing world championships in Austria next month as she continues her recovery from a serious knee injury, her coach said on Monday.

"Petra is still experiencing discomfort in ... as well as high knee stability". Until her injury, Vlhova, a slalom and giant slalom specialist, was a serious rival for US legend Mikaela Shiffrin.

It is bad injury news this morning for fans of Paula Badosa and Petra Kvitova with both out of the Rome Open having withdrawn on the eve of their matches at the Foro Italico.