Serena Williams retired during her Hopman Cup match in Perth on Tuesday, completing a day of injuries and upsets for the leading women’s players less than two weeks from the Australian Open.
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The Hopman Cup’s Twitter feed confirmed Williams had pulled out of the tournament, after the American had to cut short her first match of 2016 because of an inflamed left knee, leaving the court a set and 2-1 down against Australia’s Jarmila Wolfe.
Ukraine triumphed in the tie 2-1 after Alexandr Dolgopolov beat Jack Sock 6-4 6-2, though Duval and Sock claimed victory in the mixed doubles with a 6-2 6-3 win.
“I am taking a proactive step and withdrawing from tournaments in Beijing and Singapore to properly address my health and take the time to heal”, Williams said in a statement at the time. Her coach Patrick Mouratoglou admitted the player had been struggling for a while and has been having bi-annual injections to her knee in a bid to strengthen the cartilage.
After winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles previous year, Williams narrowly missed completing a season Grand Slam when she lost to Roberta Vinci in the semi-finals of the US Open.
The 20-year-old Australian, ranked 30th in the world, had never won his previous four meetings against Murray, including three losses in Grand Slams last year.
“I’m just really grateful to be back and do what I love”.
She finished 2015 at number 22 and went into the season-opening Brisbane International unseeded.
Williams’ injury has added to concerns over the fitness of a cluster of stars in the ladies’ side of the draw at the Australian Open.
Meanwhile, her elder sister, Venus Williams, was stunned at the ABS Classics by 18-year-old Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina in the first round of the ASB Classic.
The world No. 105 unleashed some nice winners before Williams called it quits in the second set.
Williams intends to compete on Tuesday, but the knee injury could be problematic.
Serena isn’t one to downplay something she thinks might actually be a hindrance in the future, so that’s the good news.
British No. 1 Johanna Konta also made an early exit, losing 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Qiang, while Eugenie Bouchard of Canada survived a scare before beating Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.
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Wolfe then broke again early in the second set and, following a discussion with trainers, Williams chose to retire.
