MELBOURNE, Australia – Serena Williams withdrew from an Australian Open tune-up tournament after citing a right shoulder injury on Friday within hours of setting up a semi-final against Ash Barty, the top tier.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion usually doesn’t play in a tournament the week before a Grand Slam event, but made an exception for last year’s US Open and for this Australian Open due to all the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. .
The 39-year-old American played her first tournament since she withdrew from the French Open for her second round game due to an Achilles tendon injury in October. She, like all the players who traveled to Australia for the tournament, had to be quarantined for 14 days and had little practice during that time.
With the first big start of the year on Monday, Williams can rest better.
She had three wins at the Yarra Valley Classic – one of six tournaments at Melbourne Park this week – culminating in a 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 win in a match tiebreaker over Danielle Collins on Friday.
The pullout came after her post-game press conference – when she didn’t report any issues – so no full explanation was given.
It means that Barty will get a walk-over to the final and also get some rest on Saturday.
There were 70 matches in the order of play on Friday, an extensive schedule a day after all matches in six tournaments were postponed, allowing 160 players and 507 people in total to isolate and undergo testing because a quarantine hotel employee returned a positive test . Tennis Australia said all tests were negative.
To speed things up a bit at the back of the tournament, 17 courts were used and women’s matches were reduced to two regular sets with a 10-point match tiebreaker if necessary.
Williams and Barty both had to play the match tiebreaker – Barty defeated Shelby Rogers 7-5, 2-6, 10-4.
Before retiring, Williams said she was looking forward to the semi-finals.
“It is definitely a good opportunity to see where I am going against the current number 1, which is very important to me,” said Williams. ‘Of course I think for her too, to see where she goes against my game.
“It’s been a long 12 months. Tennis has been played, but not really, so … hopefully this is like a new year when things will be different.”
Garbine Muguruza defeated defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the semi-finals, reversing their result of their 2020 final in Melbourne Park. She will then play number 8 Marketa Vondrousova.