The BNP Paribas Open is just around the corner and it looks like Serena Williams is still not planning to kick off her 2022 season.
The last tournament Williams played was Wimbledon 2021. It was a first-round exit, as the American slipped on the grass, injured her hamstring and retired against Aliaksandra Sasnovich just six games into the match.
Six months went by, and in the first half of December, Williams informed the tennis world that she would not travel to Australia at the start of the 2022 season. Interestingly, the 23-time Grand Slam champion made no mention of her hamstring injury. Rather, she just explained that her medical team advised her to take more time to get physically fit, so she made a difficult decision to skip the 2022 Australian Open.
Now that the season is heading to the United States, with WTA 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, everyone is waiting to see whether Williams will finally get back to competition. It looks like she’ll stay on the sidelines, as there has been absolute silence about her comeback.
The 40-year-old has been busy with her off-court projects and family life. Most recently, she was spotted at the Paris Fashion Week, in particular the Balmain Womenswear Fall/Winter 2022/2023 show. A week ago, she paid tribute to the late designer and Off-White founder, Virgil Abloh by walking the runway during the Off-White Womenswear Fall/Winter 2022/2023 show in Paris.
The BNP Paribas Open starts on March 9 and Serena Williams is not on the player list. Neither is her sister Venus. Friday’s final wildcard announcement confirms that the sisters will officially not be playing in Indian Wells this year.
The Miami Open player field updated on February 22 also doesn’t feature the tennis legends. Note that the sisters’ film “King Richard” is nominated for the 2022 Oscars in six categories. The Academy Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, March 27, in the middle of the Miami Open.
There have been some thoughts that Serena is missing from the Tour because she is not vaccinated. The WTA legend hasn’t specifically stated her vaccination status, but she did attend the Met Gala in September and all the attendees were required to be vaxxed. On the other hand, knowing Serena’s history of life-threatening blood clots, it could be that she has a medical exemption or something.
Due to lack of play, Williams’ ranking is now down to No.237. Her last Grand Slam title came five years ago, at the 2017 Australian Open.
WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON????
IS SHE GOING TO PLAY AGAIN OR NOT???????