Serena Williams withdraws from U.S. Open due to torn hamstring

Serena Williams’ run for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title isn’t going to happen at the U.S. Open.

Williams announced on social media Wednesday morning that she is pulling out of this year’s tournament, which starts Monday, because of a torn hamstring she suffered in a first-round match at Wimbledon back in June. The 39-year-old hasn’t played since.

Later in the afternoon, her older sister, Venus, pulled out of the Open, also citing a leg injury.

"After careful consideration and following the advice of my doctors and medical team, I have decided to withdraw from the US Open to allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring," Williams wrote on social media. "New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world and one of my favorite places to play — I'll miss seeing the fans but will be cheering everyone on from afar. Thank you for your continued support and love. I'll see you soon."

"Not the best news from Serena and I today. I, too, am unable to play the U.S. Open. It’s super super, super disappointing," said the 41-year-old Venus through social media.

Venus, who has seven Grand Slam titles and has won the Open twice added, "Having some issues with my leg all this summer and just couldn’t work through it."

Time appears to be running out on Serena, the six-time U.S. Open champion. She will be 40 years old when the next Slam rolls around, the Australian Open in January. It was at Melbourne she won her last Slam in 2017 while pregnant with her daughter Alexis Olympia. She has reached four Grand Slam finals since, but failed to win a set in any of them. She lost to Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals of the U.S. Open last year in a tournament devoid of spectators and the energy they bring to her.

ESPN analyst Pam Shriver, on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, feared that because of the recent silence surrounding Williams, her presence in the Open was doubtful. Plus, dealing with another significant injury and the aging process doesn’t bode well for her winning a major tournament.

"…I'm concerned that she's physically not prepared to play the U.S. Open, which is a tournament that emotionally has taken its toll," Shriver said. "Through the years she's had some great highs and some of the most difficult lows that she's faced on the tennis court.

"My feeling is the depth of women's tennis over seven matches under the conditions of the U.S. Open on a hard court at this stage for Serena is not possible," Shriver continued. "I would love for her to prove me wrong. I just don't have enough evidence that she's going to be able to stay healthy in order to do what needs to be done, to win seven matches and be the last one standing, like she did for 23 times of her historic career."

Serena and Venus make it five big names to pull out of the tournament because of injury. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and defending champion Dominic Thiem preceded them.