Venus Williams makes mystery Open withdrawal

Aug 31, 2011, 20:22 GMT

New York - Venus Williams withdrew from the US Open with an 'unspecified illness,' the tournament referee's office confirmed on Wednesday.

The pullout, second of the day after Swedish men's sixth seed Robin Soderling pulled out with a virus, is likely to drop the one-time number one player currently ranked 36th to a position outside the Top 100.

Williams, who won the New York title in 2000 and 2001, has played only once - the first round at Flushing meadows - since exiting in the Wimbledon fourth round.

The match total for 2011 for the 31-year-old stands at 11 matches.

Williams, who advanced into the second round, was to have faced on-form German Sabine Lisicki, winner of the Dallas title last week. Lisicki beat Williams in 2009 and lost to her in Dubai in 2010.

The veteran has been bothered by ill health and injuries for months. After her first-round win, she described her previous illness as 'just energy sucking, I just couldn't play pro tennis.

'I had huge plans for this summer to improve my ranking. To miss out on all those points was definitely devastating. Just to miss so much time off tour was just disheartening.'

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