Serena Williams' US Open withdrawal latest sign tennis is near end of star-studded era

[marmar]

(ESPN) The US Open begins on Monday, and while many of the world's best players will return to New York after a pandemic-impacted tournament in 2020, as will a near-capacity level of fans in all their rowdy glory, it will be who isn't in attendance that might be felt most of all.

Serena Williams announced Wednesday that she wouldn't be playing in the year's final Grand Slam, joining Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the star-studded withdrawal list. Williams said her torn hamstring still hasn't fully recovered since Wimbledon, while Federer will need yet another surgery on his right knee and Nadal declared he'll miss the rest of the season with a recurring left foot issue.

It will be the first major where none of the three will participate since the US Open in 1997. If that feels like a lifetime ago, well, it's because it was -- five players currently ranked in the WTA's top 10 weren't yet born.

Since then, the trio have combined for 63 major singles titles -- with Williams adding another 16 in doubles and mixed doubles -- and an astounding 838 weeks atop the world rankings. While Novak Djokovic is considered the third member of the sport's Big Three and could very well ultimately surpass all of them in titles and records, Williams has been the true owner of the distinction for the better part of the past two decades alongside Federer and Nadal. .................(more)

https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/32084047/serena-williams-us-open-withdrawal-latest-sign-tennis-end-star-studded-era