Serena and Venus Williams have both withdrawn from the 2021 U.S. Open, becoming the latest high-profile tennis stars to drop out of the tournament. The sisters made their announcements on social media Wednesday, marking the first time since 2003 that neither will play in the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and defending men’s champion Dominic Thiem will also miss the tournament, which begins Monday, marking the first Grand Slam event without the Williams sisters, Federer, or Nadal in the main singles draw since the 1997 U.S. Open.
Serena, who turns 40 next month, withdrew from the U.S. Open as she rehabs a torn hamstring. The 23-time major singles champion wrote on Instagram: “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. 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.”
Venus, 41, withdrew from the event due to a leg injury, posting on Twitter: “Not the best news from Serena and I today. I, too, am unable to play the U.S. Open. It’s super super super disappointing. Having some issues with my leg all this summer and just couldn’t work through it.” Venus has won seven Grand Slam titles, including at the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001.
Serena hasn’t competed since injuring her hamstring at Wimbledon in late June, and skipped last week’s Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati to allow herself more time to recover. Serena holds Grand Slam singles titles, just one shy of Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles titles. She last won a Grand Slam event in January 2017 at the Australian Open.
Editorial credit: Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock.com