American tennis player SErena Williams announced this Sunday that she will not participate in the Miami Open, which has been in dispute since Tuesday, after recently undergoing an oral operation. The former world number one and eight-time winner of the Miami tournament – the last one in 2015, the best mark in the history of the tournament – reported that an oral surgery she recently underwent prevented her from competing.
Williams, who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, admitted that it had not been an easy decision, but the best one for her health. “Miami is a special tournament for me because it is my home,” the youngest of the Williams sisters said in a statement. “I'm sad that I can't see the amazing fans this year, but I hope to be back soon.”
Williams, 39, who has 23 Grand Slams titles to her name, played her last match at the last Australian Open tournament., where she lost in the semifinals against the Japanese champion Naomi Osaka. Australian Ashleigh Barty was the last winner of the Miami Open, that of the 2019 edition, since last year it was not played due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The loss of Williams becomes the last of the stars of world tennis. The men's team will not be the Serbian Novak Djokovic, the Spanish Rafael Nadal and the Swiss Roger Federer, who had already announced before that they would skip the tournament.