Advertisement
Charles Krupa/AP/Press Association Images
Disappointment

Venus’s Australian Open comeback stalled by illness

Venus Williams has withdrawn from next month’s ASB Classic in Auckland, putting her appearance in the season’s first Grand Slam in jeopardy.

VENUS WILLIAMS’S APPEARANCE at next month’s Australian Open has been thrown into doubt by her ongoing health issues.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion was forced to withdraw from January’s ASB Classic in Auckland as she continues to cope with Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease.

The hard court tournament was due to be Williams’ first competitive action since August but, after playing a few recent exhibition matches, her agent Carlos Fleming told organisers that she was not quite ready to return to the court.

“We are disappointed to have lost a player of her calibre,” tournament director Richard Palmer announced yesterday.

“While withdrawals of this nature are part and parcel of sport, we sincerely feel for the fans who will also be disappointed by the news of Venus’s withdrawal.”

Only last month she was reported saying she was looking forward to her first tournament of the year in Auckland and had heard great things about the ASB Classic.  Her goal was to play a full schedule next year.

The Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the tennis season, begins in Melbourne on 16 January, though Williams is now a major doubt for both the singles and doubles tournaments.

Williams pulled out of the US Open in August after she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease which causes fatigue and joint pain among other symptoms.

Her lack of competitive action saw her drop to 103 in the world rankings, the first time she will finish the year outside the top 100 since 1997.

In the swing: golf’s big winners in 2011

WATCH: A ‘transformer explosion’ knocks out power at last night’s big NFL game