Venus Williams won't be competing at the 2023 Cleveland Open, pulling out of the WTA 250 event shortly before the start.
The American legend hasn't played a lot this year, but she still graced the tennis courts with her presence, entertaining tennis fans all around the world. She started the year at the ASB Classic in Auckland, and even managed to win her first-round match against Katie Volynets, before losing to Lin Zhu.
Williams then recorded a first-round loss to Celine Naef at the Libema Open in Hertogenbosch, but she recorded her second win of the season against Camila Giorgi at the 2023 Birmingham Classic, before losing to Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.
The 43-year-old then lost back-to-back matches at Wimbledon and in Montreal, before she recorded yet another win, at the Cincinnati Open, beating Veronika Kudermetova in the first round. She lost to Qinwen Zheng in the second round, and after that, Venus was supposed to make her way to Cleveland.
The 2023 Cleveland Open draw set her up against 16-year-old prodigy Mirra Andreeva, but a knee injury forced the legendary American player to withdraw from the tournament.
Previously, she received a wild card for the tournament, which is also called the Tennis in the Land, and through a video posted by the tournament organizers, Williams announced her withdrawal.
"Unfortunately, my knee is just not acting right. It's just not supporting me being on the court right now. It's such a bummer ... but I'm going to work on myself, try to get myself together, so that way I can be at the [US] Open, and also, hopefully, come and play [Cleveland] next year."
Williams didn't want to hide the reason for her withdrawal. She admitted that she wants to compete at the US Open, in what would be her 24th appearance in New York, making it necessary for her to preserve her health.
"I’m so sorry that I’m not going to be able to make it to Cleveland. I’ve always wanted to play Tennis in the Land since it started, so I was really looking forward to it. I love the fans in the Midwest. You guys are awesome. I love you, sending all my love. I’m so sorry. And I’ll see you next time."