The Williams Sisters Pull Out of U.S. Open due to Injuries

Serena Williams and Venus Williams both announced on Wednesday that they are going to be missing out from this year’s U.S. Open tennis tournament that begins in a few days time because of injuries.

Serena withdrew from the competition due to the torn hamstring injury she has been dealing with and that also forced her to retire against Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in her first-round game at Wimbledon in June. While Venus, on the other hand, officially made it known to the public that her absence from the 2021 U.S. Open is due to the leg injury she has been nursing all through the summer. 

The two WTA superstars’ decision not to participate in the U.S. Open tournament due to injuries means this will be the first time since 2003 that neither of the two Williams sisters has appeared in the year’s last Grand Slam tournament. 

The 23-times Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams, in an Instagram post, announced her that body was advised against the tournament to recover fully: “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,” she said. “I’ll see you soon.” https://www.instagram.com/p/CS_rgN9Lpy4/

Venus Williams also took to Twitter hours later from Serena’s U.S. Open withdrawal announcement in a video that she will be withdrawing too from the tournament because of her injury: “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!” https://t.co/s0PRgdSSx2 

The two-times US Open winner and seven-time Grand Slam champion, Venus Williams, was defeated on Monday in her opening match at the Chicago Women’s Open and she’s not gone beyond the second round of any Grand Slam competition this year.

Are there any other big stars joining the two to sit out this year’s U.S. Open tournament?

Venus and Serena ain’t the only big names that have withdrawn from the competition for one reason or the other. The competition will also be without the likes of Dominic Thiem (men’s defending champion), Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Women’s fifth seed, Sofia Kenin, also posted on her social media page that she is withdrawing from the tournament due to her positive test for Covid-19.