U.S. Open won't be the same without Serena

There is a certain irony to the fact that Serena Williams will be absent from this year's U.S. Open with a still-mysterious injury.

In the nearly three months following last year's tournament, while tennis officials mulled what to do about Williams' profane on-court rant against a lineswoman on the penultimate point of her semifinal duel with eventual champ Kim Clijsters, there was talk of whether Williams should be banned from the 2010 Open.

In fact, when a record fine of $82,500 was imposed in late November, authorities representing the four major tournaments included a probation period in the penalty, telling Williams she would be suspended from the Open if she was guilty of another "major offense" at any of the four majors this year or next.

The problem with such a suspension, International Tennis Association president Francesco Ricci Bitti said at the time, was that banishing Williams - easily the biggest name in women's tennis - from one of the sport's premier shows "would penalize the people handing out the punishment." More, probably, than it would penalize Williams.

Everyone, including the Grand Slam pooh-bahs, understood that Williams, the most accomplished tour player and top drawing card, puts big bucks in the pockets of tournament organizers and television networks (as well as her own).

And now, here is the Open without Williams - because of that never-detailed cut on her right foot, suffered shortly after she won her 13th career major at Wimbledon. Williams formally withdrew from the tournament, which she has won three times, on Friday.

Ticket sales are not a problem; the Open will continue to be the best-attended tennis tournament anywhere. But the competition clearly has been de-buzzed a bit. Especially in light of recent hand-wringing over the sad state of American tennis and yesterday's news that defending men's champion Juan Martin del Potro, as expected, had to withdraw because of the wrist surgery he had in May.

If it weren't for the top-ranked Williams and her sister, fifth-ranked Venus - whose Open participation also is uncertain because of a knee injury - the United States would not be able to claim a top 10 player on either the men's or women's circuit. The next highest U.S. woman is No. 44 Melanie Oudin.

Meanwhile, no less an expert on questionable behavior than John McEnroe was asked whether last year's Williams incident was fairly handled, acknowledging that he "never had seen her lose it anywhere near like that before, and I'd go so far as to say she lost it worse than even I ever did. She possibly could've topped me there.

"But I don't think it was mishandled, ultimately," McEnroe said, though he did argue that the foot-fault call that set Williams off was questionable.

Clijsters, too, has been consistent in not demanding any further penance from Williams for her temporary misconduct, and has happily participated in two exhibitions alongside Williams since the incident.

The twist is that Williams' lightning-rod standing appears cemented, no matter the reason for non-attendance at the Open. She has gotten flack, in the past, for the cavalier way she pulls out of smaller events and for what some perceive to be her lack of commitment to tennis while pursuing fashion design, acting, celebrity appearances and her autobiography.

Bottom line, though: If she were healthy, she would not willingly be skipping a major tournament, which she has demonstrated, over and over, receives her passionate best. And, if she were in the Open, she would be the clear favorite.