Serena out of US Open due to torn hamstring
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NEW YORK • Serena Williams has pulled out of the US Open because of a hamstring injury, the American announced on her Instagram page yesterday.
"After careful consideration and following the advice of my doctors and medical team, I have decided to withdraw from the US Open to allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring," she wrote.
"New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world and one of my favourite 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."
Williams, who is ranked 22nd on the WTA Tour at age 39, has not played on tour since retiring in the first set of her first-round match at Wimbledon on June 29 because of an injured right hamstring.
She skipped the Olympics and last week's Cincinnati Open to have more time to recover, saying in a statement that she planned "to be back on the court very soon".
But the 23-time Grand Slam winner has not been able to recover in time to play in New York, where she has won six singles titles, including her first Slam singles crown in 1999 as a teenager. This year's edition begins on Monday.
Williams last missed the US Open in 2017 because of the birth of her daughter, Olympia. She returned to the tour in March 2018 and until now had participated in every Grand Slam tournament since her comeback but has yet to win.
She lost the 2018 US Open final to Naomi Osaka of Japan and the 2019 final to Bianca Andreescu of Canada. Last year, when the tournament was held without spectators because of the pandemic, she fell in the semi-finals to Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
Williams' announcement leaves Flushing Meadows without three of the sport's biggest stars.
Roger Federer, 40, and Rafael Nadal, 35, have withdrawn and ended their seasons because of injuries. This is the first time since 1997 that the US Open will be played without at least one of the three. Defending men's champion Dominic Thiem is also out with a wrist injury.
Williams, like Federer and Nadal, is one of the greatest champions in tennis history. She last won a Grand Slam title in January 2017 at the Australian Open, but her chances of tying Margaret Court's longstanding record of 24 Slams appear increasingly slim.
Her only title in the last 4½ years came in a lower-tier event in Auckland in January last year.
NYTIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
