Serena Williams keen on playing through left knee injury
Posted on July 23, 2008
Filed Under WTA
Once again, Serena Williams proves to be a determined player who never gives up. She is not a quitter as she plans to keep playing through a left knee injury despite advice from a doctor and her father that she rest with less than three weeks before the Beijing Olympics.
Actually, she believes her injured knee “will be old news” by the time the Olympic tennis tournament in Beijing begins on Aug. 10.
Williams withdrew from Saturdays’ semifinals of the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford after injuring her knee. According to her statements, a MRI exam afterward revealed an inflamed joint.
“I’ve been playing a lot of tennis, that’s basically what it is, a lot of use,” she said yesterday. “I haven’t had enough time to train the way I normally do off-court because I’m playing a lot.”
Serena’s older sister, Venus, and Lindsay Davenport also withdrew from Carson because of right knee injuries. Thus, the US Olympic team is hit by a rash of knee injuries before the Beijing Olympics.
Despite her knee injury, Venus has said she plans to play next week’s WTA tournament in Canada before going to Beijing, while Davenport has not revealed her immediate plans.
A doctor and her father, Richard, recommended Serena that she skip this week’s tournament near her hometown of Compton.
“He’s always passive and I’m more aggressive,” she said about her father. “I’ve been doing really well all year and I’ve been playing a lot. What I want to do is play tennis and play tournaments for this year and several years. I just feel like that’s all I want to do.”
Williams has played nine tournaments this year and won three consecutive titles. She has a 33-5 match record, including a loss to Venus in the Wimbledon final.
Serena could not attend the 2004 Athens Games due to her ailing left knee, but she and her sister, Venus, won the gold medal in doubles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and Serena called it “my favorite trophy.”
“When I first had an opportunity to compete, I was excited and I really wanted to do it, but I didn’t understand it until I was there and until I actually won,” she said. “Then it kind of all set in, what a great feat it was.”
Williams said she is not concerned about playing outdoors in Beijing’s polluted air, where she has competed twice before in a WTA tournament.
“I also play in New York and L.A. and let’s face it, we’re no saints here,” she added.
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