Venus Williams will focus on Malaysian open for her Olympics preparation – Tennis News
Former world number one, Venus Williams of the United States, believes her Malaysian Open campaign will serve an essential stop for getting ready for the Olympic Games next year. The $220,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) event will be played on the outdoor hard courts of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from 27th of February next season.
The 31-year-old American veteran is eyeing for her fourth gold medal at the mega sports gala next summer and is labouring extremely hard to get her form and fitness right. Venus’ persistent injuries have sidelined her from professional tennis circuit for most of the last two WTA seasons, dropping the American to 104th rank in the women’s ranking by this year’s end.
Venus earned her first Olympic gold medal in 2000 Sydney games in the singles category of tennis and then teamed up with her sister, Serena Williams, to claim gold in doubles at the same venue as well. The Williams Sisters repeated the similar feat at the 2008 Beijing Olympics again and Venus believes she will make her comeback in 2012 WTA season to capture her fourth gold medal.
“I feel good. My aim for 2012 is to get back into the top of the rankings and of course London will be the highlight for me,” said Venus, “With the Olympic tennis tournament to be held at Wimbledon next year, the BMW Malaysian Open will be a great opportunity for me to prepare for the rest of the season. Malaysia is a very important stop during my comeback schedule and will be fantastic opportunity to improve my strength”
Her injuries and illness have already pushed her out of the top-100 in WTA singles rankings and it will take some committed effort from the former world number one to break back in the winners’ circle in the next season. Venus played just four tournaments this season, failing to bag any championship title due to her debilitating physical conditions.
The American is well known for her power-hitting and her belligerent stroke play is feared by most of the opponents on all kind of surfaces. Venus has always made strong come backs after an injury lay-off and it is hoped that the American veteran keeps with her trend of blasting her way into the winners circle in the next season as well. Malaysian Open will be a vital stop for Venus to test her fitness levels and get back her vintage form for the prestigious Olympic gold.
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