Forget an all-Williams final. The US Open will be a no-Williams affair.
Venus Williams joined younger sister Serena on the sideline for the year's last Grand Slam tournament, withdrawing Friday because of the abdominal injury that has bothered her since May. The US Open, which starts Monday, will be the first major without a Williams since the 1997 Australian Open.
It also will be a test for a sport that has benefited from the sisters' on-court skills and off-court popularity.
"It's a shame for the fans. Serena and Venus have been the ones dominating the Slams the last few years," 1998 Open champion Lindsay Davenport said. "It's always exciting, especially for the New York crowd, to have at least one of them there. Now both of them are gone."
Neither has played since Serena beat Venus for the Wimbledon title on July 5, the fifth Williams vs. Williams championship match in the past six Slams, all won by Serena. She pulled out of the US Open on Aug. 1, after left knee surgery, leaving the tournament without either defending singles champion (Pete Sampras is retiring).
Venus, 23, has been in New York, practicing and testing her condition.
"I kept thinking I would be able to compete," she said Friday. "Unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be. So, with regret, I have to pull out of this tournament and continue my recovery. I'm looking forward to playing again in the fall."
A Williams has won the past four US Opens, with Venus lifting the trophy in 2000-2001. When she beat little sis in the 2001 final, it was the first time in 117 years that siblings played for a Grand Slam title and the first time two black players stood at opposite sides of a net to decide a major singles title.
Now the question is: Can the sisters withstand the grind of the tour?
Kim Clijsters of Belgium recently replaced Serena at No. 1 in the WTA Tour rankings, despite never having won a major. Clijsters benefits from having played 15 events in 2003, reaching the semifinals at all but one.
In contrast, Serena has played in seven tournaments, Venus six.
So Serena dropped to second in the rankings, while Venus -- also a former No. 1 -- fell to No. 5, her lowest spot since July 2000.
"Obviously the tour is very disappointed that neither Venus nor Serena is going to play in this year's US Open," WTA Tour spokesman Darrell Fry said. "But from our perspective, Venus and Serena's health comes first, and we want both of them to take as much time as they need to recover from their injuries so they can get back to the tour and play as long as they want to play."
Venus first showed signs of her stomach muscle injury during a clay court tournament in Warsaw, Poland, where she quit during the May 4 final. She curtailed her preparations for the French Open and was upset by Russian teenager Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round -- her earliest exit at a major in two years.
Serena, who's 21, also faltered in France, her 33-match Grand Slam winning streak ending in the semifinals against eventual champion Justine Henin-Hardenne.
At Wimbledon, which she also won in 2000-2001, Venus looked dominant until the strain flared up during her semifinal against Clijsters. Wincing after serves and doubling over between points, Venus managed to win in three sets.
"As a rule, I never play with pain," she said at the time. "I generally retire immediately. I've never been taught to play with pain."
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was