Two more tennis stars have withdrawn from the U.S. Open.
Both Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin will be absent from the draw on Thursday after each pulled out on Wednesday.
Williams, who was set to play in the tournament as a wild-card selection, has joined sister Serena in withdrawing from the final Grand Slam of the year due to injury.
Not the best news everyone. I am joining @serenawilliams @RafaelNadal and @rogerfederer on the injured list. It’s still going to be a great US Open & many thanks to the @usta for the wild card. I was so looking forward to it, but it was not meant to be this year. I will be back! pic.twitter.com/s0PRgdSSx2— Venus Williams (@Venuseswilliams) August 25, 2021
Not the best news everyone. I am joining @serenawilliams @RafaelNadal and @rogerfederer on the injured list. It’s still going to be a great US Open & many thanks to the @usta for the wild card. I was so looking forward to it, but it was not meant to be this year. I will be back! pic.twitter.com/s0PRgdSSx2
In a video posted on social media Wednesday, Williams said she has been having issues with her leg all summer “and just couldn’t work through it.”
While she tried her best to get back into her groove in Chicago, Williams added that she was “unable to figure out the equation.”
“I’m gonna miss the Open — it’s my favorite Slam,” she said. “I’ve had so many amazing memories there and can’t wait to get back out on the court whenever that is. I’ll work with my team and make it as soon as I can. No date at this time.”
For the first time since 2003, neither of the Williams sisters will compete at Flushing Meadows.
Fifth-ranked Kenin also pulled out of the U.S. Open on Wednesday after she tested positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated.
I plan to spend the next several weeks getting healthy and preparing to play well this fall. Thank you all for supporting me. I want to wish all the players the best of luck in New York. 2/2— Sofia Kenin (@SofiaKenin) August 26, 2021
I plan to spend the next several weeks getting healthy and preparing to play well this fall. Thank you all for supporting me. I want to wish all the players the best of luck in New York. 2/2
“Fortunately I am vaccinated and thus my symptoms have been fairly mild,” Kenin wrote. “However I have continued to test positive and thus will not be able to compete at the US Open next week.”
Kenin’s strongest showing at the U.S. Open was a fourth-round finish in 2020, the same year she won the Australian Open, the first and only Grand Slam title of her career. The 22-year-old added that she plans to spend the “next several weeks getting healthy” in order to return to competition this fall.
The draw for the U.S. Open is Thursday, with play set to begin Monday, Aug. 30.