Venus Williams determined to return despite ‘overwhelming’ injury set back

Williams, 42, was forced to miss a 22nd appearance at the Australian Open

Venus Williams suffered a hamstring injury at the Auckland Classic (Getty Images)

Seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams faces a long spell on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury that ended her hopes of playing in last month’s Australian Open but the 42-year-old is determined to get back on court at some point.

Williams was set to play in her 22nd Australian Open after being given a wildcard but the twice finalist sustained the injury while preparing at the Auckland Classic.

“To be honest, I was super overwhelmed by the injury,” Williams said on her YouTube channel. “I’ve been injured a long time now and I couldn’t believe I had to go back to rehab.

“After about a week, I started setting up my doctors appointments and started thinking about what was next for me and trying to really get a handle on how much time it’ll take for me to get back.

“This is the kind of injury that you have to let it rest a bit before you can start to do serious rehab ... You have to walk before you run and I’m starting to walk pretty good. Hopefully, I’ll be running soon, but for now, I’ll not be playing tennis.”

Williams, who has won five Wimbledon titles and two US Open crowns, is ranked 664th in the world having returned to competitive action in Auckland for the first time since being dumped out of last year’s US Open in the first round.

She was also knocked out in the first round of the women’s doubles, playing alongside sister Serena, who announced last summer her intention to “evolve away” from tennis.

Reuters