Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam winner, announced on Sunday in a video posted to the WTA tournament’s social media that she would not be competing in Cleveland next week due to a knee ailment.
The 43-year-old former world number one American claimed she needed to forego her final scheduled US Open warmup in order to be at her peak performance level when the year’s final Grand Slam competition gets underway in New York on August 28.
“Unfortunately, my knee is just not acting right,” Williams said. “It’s just not supporting me being on the court right now. It’s such a bummer.”
Williams indicated a desire to play next year in Cleveland, a sign she looks to compete again in the 2024 WTA campaign.
“I’m going to work on myself, try to get myself together, so that way I can be at the Open, and also, hopefully, come and play (Cleveland) next year,” she said.
“I’m so sorry that I’m not going to be able to make it to Cleveland,” Williams said. “I was really looking forward to it.”
Williams, who is ranked 407th in the world, won the US Open in 2000 and 2001 and five Wimbledon singles championships, the most recent of which was in 2008.
