Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Hard News Hard Hitting News Source Global Political News

Sports News

Serena Williams Pulls Out Of US Open, Citing Torn Hamstring

FILE – Serena Williams of the US plays Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus for the women’s singles first round match on day two of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday June 29, 2021. Williams added herself to the list of big-name withdrawals from the U.S. Open on Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2021 pulling out of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament because of a torn hamstring. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)

Serena Williams added herself to the list of big-name withdrawals from the U.S. Open on Wednesday, pulling out of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament because of a torn hamstring.

Williams hasn’t competed since injuring her right leg in the first set of her first-round match at Wimbledon in late June.

The American, who turns 40 next month, announced her decision to sit out the U.S. Open via a social media post. She joins Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in sitting out the competition in Flushing Meadows, where play begins next Monday, raising questions about what the future of tennis might look like without them. The draw for the tournament is Thursday.

This will be the first major tournament since 1997 without any of Williams, Federer or Nadal in the singles brackets. Williams made her Grand Slam debut at the 1998 Australian Open; Federer made his the following year; Nadal in 2003.

Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, a record in the professional era. Only one player in tennis history owns more, Margaret Court with 24.

Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic share the men’s record of 20.

“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,” Williams wrote in Wednesday’s post.

Her note ended with: “I’ll see you soon.”

Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, also put up a post on social media, saying, “we’ve done everything we could” and adding: “It is heartbreaking, but this is the only possible decision.”

Williams has won six singles championships at the U.S. Open, most recently in 2014. In her five appearances at the hard-court tournament in New York since then, she has made it to the final twice — losing to Naomi Osaka in 2018 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 — and the semifinals three other times, including last year.

Her best-in-the-game serve and powerful groundstrokes have allowed Williams to remain among the title contenders at the biggest tournaments, especially on hard courts and grass.

This season, she was a semifinalist at the Australian Open in February, before losing to eventual champion Osaka there. At the French Open, played on red clay, Williams lost in the fourth round to Elena Rybakina.

At Wimbledon, Williams was serving while leading 3-1 in her opening match when her left shoe seemed to lose its traction while she was hitting a forehand and her right leg flexed awkwardly.

She tried to continue but eventually needed to stop playing, only the second mid-match retirement of her Grand Slam career and first since 1998.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Serena Williams added herself to the list of big-name withdrawals from the U.S. Open on Wednesday, pulling out of the year’s last Grand Slam tournament because of a torn hamstring.

Williams hasn’t competed since injuring her right leg in the first set of her first-round match at Wimbledon in late June.

The American, who turns 40 next month, announced her decision to sit out the U.S. Open via a social media post. She joins Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in sitting out the competition in Flushing Meadows, where play begins next Monday, raising questions about what the future of tennis might look like without them. The draw for the tournament is Thursday.

This will be the first major tournament since 1997 without any of Williams, Federer or Nadal in the singles brackets. Williams made her Grand Slam debut at the 1998 Australian Open; Federer made his the following year; Nadal in 2003.

Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, a record in the professional era. Only one player in tennis history owns more, Margaret Court with 24.

Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic share the men’s record of 20.

“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,” Williams wrote in Wednesday’s post.

Her note ended with: “I’ll see you soon.”

Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, also put up a post on social media, saying, “we’ve done everything we could” and adding: “It is heartbreaking, but this is the only possible decision.”

Williams has won six singles championships at the U.S. Open, most recently in 2014. In her five appearances at the hard-court tournament in New York since then, she has made it to the final twice — losing to Naomi Osaka in 2018 and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 — and the semifinals three other times, including last year.

Her best-in-the-game serve and powerful groundstrokes have allowed Williams to remain among the title contenders at the biggest tournaments, especially on hard courts and grass.

This season, she was a semifinalist at the Australian Open in February, before losing to eventual champion Osaka there. At the French Open, played on red clay, Williams lost in the fourth round to Elena Rybakina.

At Wimbledon, Williams was serving while leading 3-1 in her opening match when her left shoe seemed to lose its traction while she was hitting a forehand and her right leg flexed awkwardly.

She tried to continue but eventually needed to stop playing, only the second mid-match retirement of her Grand Slam career and first since 1998.


Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/novak-djokovic-sports-tennis-serena-williams-us-open-tennis-championships-bbe8f3eea9d8df2ac9370c677666af56

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

Business News

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby apologized Monday after his father-in-law, disgraced former Baylor coach Art Briles, was seen on the field with...

Business News

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A major rescue operation is underway in Turkey’s Taurus Mountains to bring out an American researcher who fell seriously ill...

Business News

Spanish soccer is ready to move forward, three weeks after its women’s team won the Women’s World Cup but had its celebrations marred by a...

Business News

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia played its first home football game in 10 months on Saturday and went in hoping to create a high...

Copyright © 2023 Hard News Herd Hitting in Your Face News Source | World News | Breaking News | US News | Political News Website by Top Search SEO