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Serena Williams: Can She Afford to Sit Out?

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Serena Williams: Can She Afford to Sit Out?
This year, the most notable absent player on the court and in most tournaments, is World Number 1 Serena Williams. The American player has only participated in six tournaments this year: the Medibank International, the Australian Open, Internazionali BNL
d’Italia, Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, the French Open and Wimbledon, while dropping out of every event since then. Williams has reported an accident with glass, resulting in one of her foot muscles being torn open and leaving her unable to participate in
any matches.
Williams has had a good run this year, in terms of just these tournaments. She reached the final of the Medibank International, where she was defeated by Elena Dementieva. The Australian Open proved to be a victory for her, culminating in her defeat of Justine
Henin. At the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Williams reached the semi finals before falling to Jelena Jankovic. Her weakest tournament was the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, where she fell to Nadia Petrova in the third round. After this tournament, she went on
to reach the quarter finals of the French Open, before losing to Sam Stosur. Her last tournament so far this year, Wimbledon, was a massive victory for Williams; she reached the final to defeat Vera Zvonareva, eventual US Open finalist, and take the title.
However, the tennis world has been bereft of one of the greatest queens of the sport since June, when a bizarre accident in Munich cut her foot and left her unable to participate in tournaments at Istanbul, Montreal and Cincinnati. She was forced to withdraw
from every WTA tournament on the tour, and ultimately, she also missed the 2010 US Open tournament – this is the first Grand Slam tournament she has skipped since the 2006 Wimbledon Cup. The same injury has forced Serena Williams to drop out of the 2010 Toray
Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and the China Open this year in Beijing, and her return to the game is as yet completely uncertain. While she did issue a statement saying she planned to compete in the 2010 Fed Cup, a change of mind would not be unexpected.
Despite the fact that her last successful tournament was in June, Serena Williams has retained her place as the World Number 1 on Women’s Tennis Association rankings. This is both a testament to Williams and her superior performance in the six tournaments
which she participated in, and to the lagging performance of other elite WTA players.
Although Williams has been exceptionally lucky as well so far, since her two major competitors, World Number 2 Caroline Wozniacki and World Number 5 Jelena Jankovic both failed to win this year’s US Open. Had either one of them succeeded in eliminating their
opposition to win the tournament, Williams would no longer retain her crown.
Although so far, a combination of luck, previous skill, and the poor participation of her opponents has made it possible for Williams to keep her ranking, her absence in Premier tournaments such as the Toray Pan Pacific Open and the China Open may end up
costing her the World Number 1 ranking, before the year end championships. If Serena Williams wishes to keep her top dog ranking, a quick return to the game may very well be in her favour.

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