CNN
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Venus Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open as a result of an damage she sustained on the ASB Basic in New Zealand, match organizers introduced by way of Twitter on Saturday.
The American was awarded a main-draw wild card for what would have been her twenty second look on the Australian Open, 25 years after her match debut in 1998.
Williams’ withdrawal comes simply days after she gained her first tour-level singles match in a 12 months and a half, defeating fellow American Katie Volynets 7-6 (4) 6-2 within the opening spherical of the ASB Basic in Auckland, New Zealand.
The 42-year-old then misplaced to China’s Zhu Lin 3-6 6-2 7-5 within the subsequent spherical of the match.
She is a two-time finalist on the Australian Open – in 2003 and 2017 and misplaced to her sister, Serena, on each events.
Now ranked exterior the highest 1000, Williams has gained seven grand slams since her skilled debut in 1994 and has develop into the world No. 1 in each singles and doubles.
Males’s world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz can even miss the Australian Open, as a result of a leg damage, he mentioned on Friday.
The match would have been the 19-year-old’s first grand slam since successful the 2022 US Open in September and turning into the youngest world No. 1 within the historical past of males’s tennis.
In the meantime, there are query marks over the health of girls’s world No. 1 Iga Swiatek after she withdrew from the Adelaide Worldwide 2 match on Saturday as a result of a proper shoulder damage.
