Serena, Venus Williams withdraw from US Open with injuries
Serena Williams won't be gracing the courts at Flushing Meadows next week.
In an Instagram post, Williams revealed that she's withdrawn from the US Open so she can continue healing from a torn hamstring.
After careful consideration and following the advice of my doctors and medical team, I have decided to withdraw from the U.S. Open to allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring. New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world and one of my favorite places to play — I'll miss seeing the fans but will be cheering everyone on from afar.
Thank you for your continued support and love. I'll see you soon.
Later Wednesday, her sister Venus Williams, 41, also announced that she's withdrawing from the US Open, citing a leg injury. The news means the US Open will be the first Grand Slam event without either of the Williams sisters, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal since 1997.
Not the best news everyone. I am joining @serenawilliams @RafaelNadal and @rogerfederer on the injured list. It’s still going to be a great US Open & many thanks to the @usta for the wild card. I was so looking forward to it, but it was not meant to be this year. I will be back! pic.twitter.com/s0PRgdSSx2
— Venus Williams (@Venuseswilliams) August 25, 2021
"It's super super super disappointing," Venus said on a social media video. "Having some issues with my leg all this summer and just couldn't work through it."
Another setback for Serena's quest for history
Serena, 39, tore her hamstring during her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich at Wimbledon. She wasn't able to make it through the rest of the match and hasn't participated in a tournament since, including the Tokyo Olympics. In the comments of the Instagram post, Serena's longtime coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, wrote, "You have tried everything."
Serena has always excelled at the US Open. It's where she won her first Grand Slam title in 1999, and she'd go on to win it another five times. She's also been to the finals four times, most recently in 2018 and 2019. She won her last US Open title in 2014.
This is another setback on Serena's quest to tie Margaret Court's 24 Grand Slam titles. She won her last Grand Slam in 2017, and since then has made it to two Wimbledon finals and two US Open finals. Serena was unable to take the win all four times and has remained stuck at 23. While 23 is an Open Era record, it's not the kind of history Serena wants to make.
The US Open is the last Grand Slam on the calendar, so Williams will have the rest of the year to recover before the Australian Open in January.
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