The 2022 Australian Open is a Grand Slam tennis tournament that will be held in Melbourne Park from January 17 through January 30, 2022. The Australian Open will take place for the 110th time, and the 54th time in the Open Era, and will be the first Grand Slam of the year.
Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka are the current men's and women's singles champions, respectively. When Djokovic reached Australia on January 5, 2022, his visa was refused by the Australian Border Force, and he may not be able to defend his title.
Several other male and female tennis players are set to miss the Australian Open, and veteran star and seven-time tournament winner, Serena Williams is one of them. Here you will find out why the 40-year-old American tennis player is out of this competition.
Serena Williams out of the 2022 Australian Open
Serena Williams was noticeably absent from the 2022 Australian Open entry list, which was announced in August 2021. Williams, 40, hasn't competed since withdrawing from her first-round match at Wimbledon due to a right hamstring injury. The seven-time Australian Open Women's champion has been ravaged by injuries in the latter stages of her career. Her ranking has dropped to No. 41 as a result of her inactivity, which will have a significant impact on her seeding if she decides to play again.
She won her 23rd Grand Slam singles champion in the 2017 Australian Open but was defeated in straight sets in the Semi-Finals last year by Naomi Osaka. "While this is never an easy decision to make, I am not where I need to be physically to compete. Melbourne is one of my favorite cities to visit and I look forward to playing at the AO every year", Serena confirmed in early December. In addition, ever her older sister, Venus Williams is also ruled out of the Australian Open. The Australian Open will be devoid of both Venus and Serena for the first time since 1997.
The veteran has been absent for nearly six months and counting due to a hamstring injury that can take a long time to recover. Surprisingly, she made no mention of her hamstring injury, merely stating that she would be skipping the tournament on the advice of her medical team. She attempted to cushion the impact, but she offered no indication of when or whether she intended to return to action.
