Safina out of Indian Wells with injury

World number two Dinara Safina has pulled out of next week's Indian Wells tournament because of persistent problems with a back injury.

"Unfortunately, I will not be able to play in Indian Wells this year because of the back injury that's been bothering me since the end of last season," Safina said.

Safina has not played since retiring injured during her fourth-round match against Maria Kirilenko at the Australian Open in January.

The 23-year-old said last month she was hoping to come back at the $4.5-million tournament in the United States but has now pushed her return date to the Sony Ericsson Open that starts in Miami on March 23.

Davis Cup tie

Chile's Davis Cup tie with Israel has been put back a day until Saturday because of the devastating earthquake which hit the South American country at the weekend, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said.

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake, which struck central and southern Chile last Saturday, killed at least 800 people.

The World Group first round tie in the northern city of Coquimbo will now start on Saturday instead of tomorrow and end on Monday, the ITF said in a statement.

Transport problems have delayed the arrival of players and officials.