Implications of Serena Williams' Withdrawal from 2011 Australian Open
Two-time defending champion, Serena Williams, announced that she was withdrawing from the 2011 Hopman Cup and the Australian Open because of foot surgery she had in October. Serena is still walking around on crutches with her foot in a cast. The operation was the second surgery that Serena has had on her foot since cutting
her foot last July when broken glass fell on her foot. Apparently, Serena trained too hard following the first surgery and reinjured the foot requiring the second surgery. Clearly, Serena has now learned that she must rehab the foot more slowly this time around.
So what are the implications of Serena’s withdrawal? For Serena, she will lose more ranking points, as well as the opportunity to add to her collection of Grand Slam singles and doubles titles. Serena has shown in the past that she can return from an extended break and still dominate on Tour. However, at the age of twenty-nine, Serena will be coming back after at least seven months and maybe longer, depending on when she returns to competition. The next Grand Slam Serena could play would be on clay at Roland Garros, not her strongest Slam.
For Venus Williams, a second Grand Slam will pass in which she is also unable to add to her Grand Slam doubles trophy collection, assuming that Venus is healthy for Australia (she is nursing a knee injury). For the rest of the women’s field, there is now a huge chance to grab a Grand Slam singles or doubles title. Certainly, the tone for the rest of the women’s season will be somewhat set by which players takes advantage of this opportunity. For the Australian Open, there will most likely be a bit of a financial hit since the announcement has been made so far in advance and there are still many tickets to be sold. Without one or two marquee player names, the international television ratings could suffer as well which could affect renewal rates when the TV deals are negotiated in the future.
So what are the implications of Serena’s withdrawal? For Serena, she will lose more ranking points, as well as the opportunity to add to her collection of Grand Slam singles and doubles titles. Serena has shown in the past that she can return from an extended break and still dominate on Tour. However, at the age of twenty-nine, Serena will be coming back after at least seven months and maybe longer, depending on when she returns to competition. The next Grand Slam Serena could play would be on clay at Roland Garros, not her strongest Slam.
For Venus Williams, a second Grand Slam will pass in which she is also unable to add to her Grand Slam doubles trophy collection, assuming that Venus is healthy for Australia (she is nursing a knee injury). For the rest of the women’s field, there is now a huge chance to grab a Grand Slam singles or doubles title. Certainly, the tone for the rest of the women’s season will be somewhat set by which players takes advantage of this opportunity. For the Australian Open, there will most likely be a bit of a financial hit since the announcement has been made so far in advance and there are still many tickets to be sold. Without one or two marquee player names, the international television ratings could suffer as well which could affect renewal rates when the TV deals are negotiated in the future.
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