Serena won't play until 2004
From correspondents in St. Petersburg, Florida
October 18, 2003
REIGNING Wimbledon and Australian Open champion Serena Williams, sidelined more than two months with a left knee injury, will not play tennis again until 2004, the WTA Tour announced today.
World No.3 Williams, who spent much of the year ranked number one in the world, withdrew today from next month's WTA Tour Championships next month in Los Angeles and a tuneup event in Philadelphia starting in 10 days.
"I really miss playing tennis and I can't wait to come back and compete," Williams said in a statement.
"However, I feel that I need more time to prepare and get myself in the best shape possible."
Williams had surgery to repair a partial tear in her left quadriceps tendon on August 1.
Although she has been progressing in rehabilitation, Williams has been advised to stay out of competition and continue her training to ensure she will return in peak form.
Williams, who has not played since winning Wimbledon in July, finished the season with a 38-3 record.
She began the year by capturing her fourth straight Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and her first 21 matches of 2003.
Venus Williams, Serena's sixth-ranked older sister, has not played since losing the Wimbledon final to her sibling.
A pulled abdominal muscle has kept her out. Her status for the final events of the year is uncertain.
World No.4 Lindsay Davenport underwent surgery on her left foot will also miss the remainder of the 2003 season, the WTA said yesterday.
The former Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon champion is expected to be sidelined for up to eight weeks after she had an operation to rectify a pinched toe nerve that had been bothering her throughout the year.
Davenport expects to have recovered from foot surgery in time to play the Australian Open tennis tournament in January.