Sam Stosur joins Venus Williams on Cincinnati sidelines
Sam Stosur and Venus Williams will miss this week’s Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open in Cincinnati as a result of injury.
World No. 4 ranked Venus announced in a statement on Saturday that she began to feel pain in her left knee when she returned to her normal practice schedule during the past three weeks and that her medical advisers recommended that she not play until she is pain free.
The elder Williams sister has not played a tournament since her shock loss to world No. 82 Tsvetana Pironkova in the Wimbledon quarter-finals, and should she be fit to play at the US Open will arrive at Flushing Meadows having undertaken only limited preparation for the year’s final Grand Slam.
Fifth-ranked Stosur is in the same boat, after announcing on her website that she will miss Cincinnati and next week’s Rogers Cup in Montreal due to an arm injury, although the Australian has played in two American hard court tournaments this summer.
In a statement on her website, Stosur has said: “I had an MRI on Friday afternoon and the doctor advised me to rest my arm. Therefore, I unfortunately have to withdraw from Cincinnati and Montreal.
“It’s very disappointing for me. I’m sorry to the fans and tournament organisers. These are both great events and I was really looking forward to playing them.”
The withdrawals of Williams and fifth ranked Stosur from Cincinnati mean only two of the world’s top-five will compete at the event, with Serena Williams also missing from the draw as she continues her recovery from surgery after cutting her foot on a broken glass in the days following her successful Wimbledon title defence.
World No. 2 Jelena Jankovic enters the tournament as the top seed, while Caroline Wozniacki – fresh from winning the title at the inaugural e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open in Copenhagen – is the second seed.
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