Serena Williams Withdraws From Swedish Open – Elbow Injury Is Quite Severe


Serena Williams has announced she won’t be playing in the Swedish Open. The ace tennis player revealed the pain in her elbow is too much to bear and has forced her to back out.

Wimbledon champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Swedish Open within less than a week, after she won her sixth title at Wimbledon and fourth successive Grand Slam title. Williams said she felt severe pain in her elbow in the first game of her first-round match on Wednesday. However, notwithstanding the suffering, she bulldozed Belgian qualifier Yasline Bonaventure 6-2, 6-1. Speaking about the pain that is forcing her to skip the Swedish Open, Williams said”

“I was having some pain in my elbow, and I felt a little bit in my match. But this morning it really exploded (in practice)… I really couldn’t hit serves.”

Clearly disappointed, Serena maintained that she wants to do what’s best for her body, and that she has made the right choice, despite it being a “really, really difficult decision.” Williams won the Swedish Open in 2013.

Addressing her disappointed fans, Serena said that though she was extremely sad to withdraw, she looked forward to playing again at Bastad. Amid thundering applause after the match, Williams said:

“I always enjoy my time here in Bastad. I have such a great time. My fans here are really amazing, I love all you guys.”

Though neither the severity of the injury nor the time required for it to completely heal has been revealed, it is evident that Serena must have been looking forward to playing not just in the Swedish Open, but also the U.S. Open that is set to begin on August 31. While it is truly unfortunate that Serena Williams may have to bench herself for some time, she has had an amazing year so far.

In the first half of 2015 itself, Serena has won not just the Wimbledon Cup, but also the Australian and French Open tournaments. If she continues to play, she stands a chance of becoming only the fourth-ever woman player to complete a Grand Slam in the same calendar year. Her dominance on court brings back memories of the great tennis ladies Maureen Connolly Brinker in 1953, Margaret Court in 1970, and Steffi Graf in 1988, reported Bleacher Report.

Fortunately for Serena Williams, the U.S. open doesn’t start for another six weeks, hopefully giving her ample time to nurse the elbow injury back to health. Though disappointing, the decision to let the elbow heal completely, before she starts to decimate the competition again, could be the best for Serena.

[Image Credit | Paul Kane/Getty Images]

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