Season over for Serena
Serena Williams, plagued by left ankle and knee problems over the past several months, has announced her withdrawal from the last two WTA Tour events of the season – the Swisscom Challenge in Zurich and the Advanta Championships in Philadelphia.
“My doctors and trainers have advised me that my leg needs to fully recover in order for me to play at the level that I am accustomed to playing,” said Williams, a winner of 26 career titles, including seven grand slams.
The 24-year-old Williams, who pulled out of the China Open in September, is number 11 in the latest WTA tour rankings. She will finish 2005 with her lowest ranking since 1998.
Williams began the season by winning the Australian Open but was unable to get past the semi-finals in each of the next nine events.
“This has been such a disappointing year for me because I am such a competitive person and I like to win for myself and my fans,” Williams said.
“I tried to do my best to fight through my injuries during the season, but I now realize that I need to take some time off to rest my body and get back to being 100% healthy.”
Williams finishes the year with a 21-7 singles record and €888,000 in prize money.
“I am really disappointed that I will not be able to finish out the year in Zurich and Philadelphia, which are great tournaments that always have a lot of top players,” she said.
