On Dec. 30, Venus Williams announced that she will not participate in the 2022 Australian Open. Venus has joined her sister, Serena Williams, who won’t participate in the event either.
Due to a leg injury, the 41-year-old tennis legend has not played since August 2021. Venus played in less than three tournaments last year. Her last match was at Chicago’s WTA event. Meanwhile, Serena hasn’t competed since retiring from her first-round match at Wimbledon this summer either.
Earlier in December, Serena announced that she opted out of the Australian Open, due to a right hamstring injury. As such, this year’s Australian Open will have their first Grand Slam tournament without the Williams sisters since 1997.
According to BET, Venus has only missed three Australian Opens since 1998. She most recently opted out of the tournament in 2012. That was due to suffering from an autoimmune disease called Sjögren’s syndrome. She was diagnosed with the disease a year prior, in 2011.
In 2021, Venus played less than three tournaments. Her last match was at Chicago’s WTA event back in August. Meanwhile, Serena hasn’t competed since retiring from her first-round match at Wimbledon this Summer.
“While this is never an easy decision to make, I am not where I need to be physically to compete. Melbourne is one of my favorite cities to visit and I look forward to playing at the AO every year. I will miss seeing the fans, but am excited to return and compete at my highest level,” Serena told ESPN in December.
According to the sports channel, Serena Williams won the last of her Grand Slam titles at the 2017 Australian Open. Then, she was defeated, by Naomi Osaka, in the semifinals.
Venus Williams won her first Grand Slam title in 2000. So far, she has played 13 of the past 14 Australian Opens.
Both Venus and Serena Williams will be missed at the Australian Open 2022.
