Stating she is not completely sure if she could win the championship, Serena Williams announced on Thursday that she would not be playing in the Australian Open next week. The seven-time Australian Open winner Serena took this decision after realizing that she was merely able to play at Melbourne Park soon after she gave birth to her first child Alexis Olympia on September 1.
Notably, Serena lost in the exhibition match opposite young upstart, Jelena Ostapenko held in Abu Dhabi last weekend. In a statement on Friday, Serena said, “After competing in Abu Dhabi I realized that although I am super close, I’m not where I want to be.” She also said that her coach and the team always told her to go to tournaments when you are prepared. She wants to compete in a better way for which she is not ready and will take little more time.
Even though she is disappointed, she has decided to not compete in the Australian Open this year, she added. Serena was pregnant when she was playing at the Melbourne Park last year (the match which she won). Later, she gave birth to a baby girl in September.
The 36-year-old Serena required just one more major title in her bag to equal Margaret Court’s record. Margaret had won 13 of her 24 Grand Slam titles before the Open era began in the year 1968.
Notably, Serena’s withdrawal decision came in less than 24 hours after fellow former world number one Andy Murray withdrew from the men’s event due to a chronic hip injury. The other star players who are also dealing with injuries include top-ranked Rafael Nadal, six-time champion Novak Djokovic and 2014 winner Stan Wawrinka. However, even though Serena will not be playing in this Australian Open this year, she is promising to make a comeback in the future.
