Serena Williams faces fitness race for US Open
After being forced to withdraw from three forthcoming WTA Tour tournaments due to a foot injury, Serena Williams faces a race for fitness ahead of the US Open.
The world No. 1 recently cut her foot on a broken glass while in a restaurant, and has now undergone surgery on the injury, with the WTA announcing Serena has been forced to withdraw from tournaments in Istanbul, Cincinnati, and Montréal this summer.
The 13-time Grand Slam champion carried the foot problem into an exhibition match against Kim Clijsters in Brussels on Thursday July 8th, where she filled in for Justine Henin (who is set to miss the US Open with an elbow injury), but subsequently pulled out of her commitments to play for the Washington Kastles in the USA’s World TeamTennis competition this month.
This latest development means Williams will now miss the entire lead-up to the US Open, unless she decides to play at New Haven in the week leading up to the year’s final Grand Slam.
"I'm so upset I won't be able to play in the upcoming events because of this foot surgery,” Serena is quoted as saying on the WTA website. “I can't wait to get back on the courts."
Just when that will be is the question, and even if Serena is fit to play at Flushing Meadows, she’ll certainly not have had the desired match practice under her belt.
The Wimbledon champion is, however, the one player on the WTA Tour who may be able to get away with it, having played just six tournaments so far in 2010 and successfully defending her titles at the Australian Open and at the All England Club.
At Melbourne Park too, Serena carried a leg injury all the way to the crown before missing three months of tennis as she recovered from the problem, then returning to play the clay court season in Rome (semi-final) Madrid (third round) and the French Open (quarter-final).
Having been thwarted in her quest for a fourth US Open title last year, when Serena infamously told a lineswoman what she was going to do with a tennis ball after being foot-faulted during her semi-final loss to eventual champion Kim Clijsters, Williams will no doubt be eager to make a winning return to her home Grand Slam this year.
The question now is whether this latest injury prevents Serena from doing so.
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