Serena Williams
Peter Van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports

The GOAT won’t play in this year’s US Open.

On Wednesday morning, Serena Williams announced via her Instagram that she will not be able to participate in this year’s US Open as she recovers from a hamstring injury.

 

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Williams, who will turn 40 next month, hasn’t competed since suffering a right leg injury in the first set of her first-round match at Wimbledon in late June.

She is currently ranked 22nd in the world.

Williams has won a record 23 Grand Slam titles, the most in the professional era (Margaret Court won 24). The hamstring injury also led to Williams missing the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and she opted out of the Cincinnati Masters as well.

She joins notable men’s players Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and defending US Open champion Dominic Thiem in missing this year’s US Open.

The 2021 US Open begins Monday in Flushing Meadows. The draw is Thursday.

Tab has written about MLB, the NHL and the NFL for more than a decade for publications including The Fourth Period, Bleacher Report and La Vida Baseball. He is the author of two books about the Chicago Blackhawks and has been credentialed for the MLB All-Star Game and postseason and multiple Stanley Cup Finals. He is the co-host of the Line Drive Radio podcast.