In 35 years of women's tennis rankings, never before has the world No 1 player missed the US Open. Serena Williams will be the first. About a week and a half before the year's last grand slam tournament begins, the US Open lost its female favourite and one of its leading characters when Williams, the three-time champion, withdrew. She is still recovering from surgery to repair cuts on her right foot.
"It is with much frustration and deep sadness that I am having to pull out of the US Open," Williams said in a statement released on Friday by her publicist. Williams, whose 13 major singles titles are the most among active women players, said doctors advised her not to play so her foot can heal. She called missing the tournament "one of the most devastating moments of my career". Last year, she lost in the US Open semi-finals after a tirade at a line judge over a foot-fault call, an outburst that drew a record fine.
Williams, a 28-year-old American, reportedly was hurt by a broken glass at a restaurant while she was in Munich, Germany, last month. The injury occurred after she claimed her fourth Wimbledon singles title on July 3, and before she played in an exhibition against Kim Clijsters that drew a tennis-record crowd of 35,681 in Brussels, Belgium, on July 8. Williams had surgery in Los Angeles on July 15. She already had pulled out of three hard-court tournaments she was scheduled to enter in preparation for the US Open and also missed playing World Team Tennis.
Williams's withdrawal also means she will not team up with Venus Williams, her older sister, to defend the doubles title they won in New York last year. Venus, who has not competed on tour since Wimbledon because of a bothersome left knee, is expected to play in the singles at Flushing Meadows. Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, said Serena Williams's absence is a "fairly big-sized hit for the tournament".
"I haven't had a chance to talk to her about it, but I do know the US Open is probably her favourite event," Roddick said. "So obviously, if she's this far out and is not going to play, it's got to be something pretty serious, which is unfortunate, because there's no doubt about who the top draw card is in New York City as far as the women's side of the draw." Williams is the only No 1 woman to miss the US Open since the rankings began in 1975, according to the US Tennis Association.
Later on Friday, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, the world No 10, and Tommy Haas, a three-time US Open quarter-finalist, withdrew from the tournament. Carlos Berlocq of Argentina and Dudi Sela of Israel replaced them in the men's draw. Williams has participated in the last 16 major tournaments; the last one she missed was Wimbledon in 2006. She won her first grand slam singles championship at the 1999 US Open, and also took home the trophy in 2002 and 2008.
But in 2009, Williams lashed out at a lineswoman during her semi-final against Clijsters, the eventual US Open champion. It was a profanity-laced, finger-pointing, racket-brandishing display during which Williams approached the official with what Jim Curley, the tournament director, called at the time "a threatening manner". About two-and-a-half months later, Williams was fined US$82,500 (Dh470,732) by the grand slam administrator and told she would be suspended from the US Open if she has another "major offence" at any grand slam tournament in 2010 or 2011.
Both of Williams's titles this season came at major championships: the Australian Open and Wimbledon. If healthy, she would have been considered the favourite at the US Open, where play starts on August 30. "We regret that Serena Williams is unable to play the US Open and wish her a speedy recovery," Curley said. * Associated Press
