The 40-year-old Williams hasn’t played since retiring from
her first-round match at Wimbledon with a right hamstring injury and her
ranking has slipped to No. 41. She won the last of her 23 Grand Slam singles
titles at the 2017 Australian Open, and was beaten in the semifinals this year
by Naomi Osaka in straight sets.
The Australian Open’s website Wednesday said the seven-time
women’s singles champion would not compete in Melbourne “following advice from
her medical team.”
“While this is never an easy decision to make, I am not
where I need to be physically to compete,” Williams told the website.
“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.”
Novak Djokovic was on the men’s entry list at No. 1 in a
further indication that he’ll be playing at Melbourne Park beginning Jan. 17
despite Australia’s strict regulations requiring all players, officials and
fans to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Djokovic has declined to comment on his vaccination status
in recent months, although he was included last week on the Serbian team for
the ATP Cup which starts Jan. 1 in Sydney.
The nine-time Australian Open champion is tied with Roger
Federer and Rafael Nadal for the men’s record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
Nadal is also entered for the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 17, but
Federer is skipping the tournament as he continues his recovery from surgery.
Daniil Medvedev, who ended Djokovic’s bid for a
calendar-year Grand Slam with a victory in the U.S. Open final, Alexander
Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev are listed above No. 6 Nadal, who
is not playing for Spain at the ATP Cup.
Ash Barty tops the women’s entry list and will continue her
quest to end a long drought for Australian women at the tournament. No
Australian woman has won the singles title since Chris O’Neil in 1978.
On Monday, Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion,
said she will take a mental break from tennis and sit out the start of next
season, including the Australian Open. -AP
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