Serena Williams joined by sister Venus on sidelines of U.S. Open
The sisters have combined for eight U.S. Open singles titles, but announced - in separate posts - their respective withdrawals from the final major of the tennis calendar.
Tennis
There will be no Serena Williams at this year's U.S. Open.
And there will be no Venus, either.
In separate posts - spaced hours apart - the iconic American sibling duo announced their respective withdrawals from the final major of the tennis season, set to start Monday (30 Aug.), in New York.
Serena, the 23-time major tennis champion in singles and six-time winner in New York, posted early Wednesday (25 Aug.) morning that she was set to miss her home Slam, saying on her Instagram account that it would "allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring."
Williams, who turns 40 next month, made the semi-finals in 2020 after finishing as runner-up in both 2018 and 2019 after returning to the game having given birth to daughter Olympia in Sept. of 2017.
Venus later used her Instagram to post a video message, in which she said: I'm having some issues with my leg all this summer and just couldn't work through it. ... I'm going to miss the Open; it's my favourite Slam. We've had so many memories there."
Sisters join list of missing stars
Serena made the semi-finals at the Australian Open earlier this year, then played sparingly, making a run to the fourth round at the French Open before a slip and fall in her first-round match at Wimbledon spelled the end for her there.
The four-time Olympic gold medallist did not make the trip for Tokyo 2020.
The Williams sisters join fellow greats Roger Federer (knee) and Rafael Nadal (foot) on the sidelines for the Open, as well as men's defending champ Dominic Thiem (wrist).
Novak Djokovic is chasing the calendar Grand Slam in New York, while Ashleigh Barty is the No.1 seed on the women's side and Naomi Osaka is the defending champion.
Serena most recently won the U.S. Open in 2014, with her last major singles title coming at the Australian Open in 2017, where she beat sister Venus. The duo teamed up for Olympic gold at Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008, then also won at London 2012, where Serena captured her first gold in singles.