Melbourne, Australia — Shortly after the name of Serena Williams was no longer on the Australian Open entry list, she confirmed it was clear. The seven champions will not play the 2022 edition of the January season opening major.
The 40-year-old Williams hasn’t played since he retired from his first round at Wimbledon due to a right hamstring injury, dropping his ranking to 41st. She won the final of 23 Grand Slam singles titles in 2017. At the Australian Open, he lost to Naomi Osaka in a straight set in this year’s semifinals.
NS Australian Open website On Wednesday, the seven-time female singles champion said she wouldn’t be in Melbourne “following advice from her medical team.”
“This is by no means an easy decision, but it’s not a place where I have to physically compete,” Williams told the website. “Melbourne is one of my favorite cities and I look forward to playing at AO every year. I miss seeing my fans, but I’m excited to come back and compete at the highest level. “
Novak Djokovic will play at Melbourne Park from January 17th, despite requiring all athletes, officials and fans to be fully vaccinated with COVID-19, despite strict Australian regulations. Was on the top men’s entry list.
Djokovic joined the ATP Cup Serbian team last week in Sydney starting January 1st, but declined to comment on vaccination status in recent months.
The nine Australian Open champions have been tied to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the men’s record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles. Nadal will also be competing in the Australian Open starting January 17, but Federer is skipping the tournament as he continues to recover from surgery.
Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev, who finished bidding for Djokovic’s Grand Slam in the US Open final, are listed above the sixth Nadal, who has not played in Spain in the ATP Cup. increase.
Ashleigh Barty is at the top of the women’s entry list and continues her quest to end the long drought for Australian women in tournaments. Australian women have not won singles titles since Christine O’Neil in 1978.
On Monday, 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreesque said he would take a spiritual break from tennis and start next season, including the Australian Open.
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