Cleveland | Williams pulls out of Tennis In The Land WTA 250

Tendinitis of the left knee has forced Venus Williams to pull out of the Tennis In The Land WTA 250 hard court tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, but the 43-year old veteran still hopes to be able to play at the US Open where she receives a wild-card.

Unfortunately, my knee is just not acting right. It's just not supporting me being on the court right now. It's such a bummer... but I'm going to work on myself, try to get myself together, so that way I can be at the [US] Open, and also, hopefully, come and play [Cleveland] next year. Venus Williams

“I’m so sorry that I’m not going to be able to make it to Cleveland,” Williams said in a voicemail statement issued by the tournament. “I’ve always wanted to play Tennis in the Land since it started, so I was really looking forward to it.

“I love the fans in the Midwest. You guys are awesome. I love you, sending all my love. I’m so sorry. And I’ll see you next time.

“Unfortunately, my knee is just not acting right. It’s just not supporting me being on the court right now. It’s such a bummer… but I’m going to work on myself, try to get myself together, so that way I can be at the [US] Open, and also, hopefully, come and play [Cleveland] next year.”

Williams has made a few notable appearances in tournaments, but has also been struggling with her right knee.

At Wimbledon, she was in pain in her 1st-round clash against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, after sustaining a fall that twisted her already tightly taped knee.

Despite her knee issues, at the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham, Williams defeated Italian Camila Giorgi in the 1st-round, and then, at the Canadian Open in Montréal, she upset 16th seed Veronika Kudermetova in their 1st-round match-up.

At the Cleveland Open, Venus Williams was drawn to play the young Russian Mirra Andreeva, a player who is 27 years younger than her.

In 2007, the year Andreeva was born, Williams won the 4th of her 6 Wimbledon trophies, and finished the season with a record of 50 wins and 10 losses.

Andreeva will now face German lucky loser Tamara Korpatsch in Monday action.

France's Caroline Garcia leads the field in Cleveland this week

On Sunday, Lin Zhu of China converted 6 of 9 break-point opportunities to upset 8th seed Anna Blinkova of Russia, 6-0 6-3, on the first day of main-draw action in Cleveland.

The second set was tied 3-3 before Zhu won the final 3 games, including a challenging 8th game where she rallied from down 15-40 to break Blinkova for the 6th and final time.

The opening round was easier for 4th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, also from Russia, who defeated Romania’s Patricia Maria Tig, 6-1 6-4.

In the only other match of the day, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, wild-carded into the main draw, knocked out Czech 18-year old Linda Noskova, 6-0 6-2, in just 64 minutes.

Caroline Garcia from France heads the field in Cleveland, with Barbora Krejcikova as the No 2 seed, while there have been several withdrawals since the draw was made, including Elisabetta Coziaretto, Irina-Camelia Begu, Mayar Sherif, and Yulia Puntintseva in addition to Venus Williams.