Serena and Venus Williams withdraw from 2021 Western & Southern Open

Serena and Venus Williams are the latest stars to withdraw from the 2021 Western & Southern Open, the tournament, which kicks off Saturday at Ohio's Lindner Family Tennis Center, announced Tuesday evening. 

The Williams sisters join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as high-profile stars who've all withdrawn. 

Serena Williams, a two-time W&S Open champion, said the leg injury she suffered last month at Wimbledon is still bothering her. 

“Unfortunately, I will not be playing in the Western & Southern Open next week as I am still in recovery from my leg injury at Wimbledon. I will miss all of my fans in Cincinnati whom I look forward to seeing every summer. I plan to be back on the court very soon," Serena said in a W&S Open press release. 

Venus, whose reason for withdrawing was undisclosed, spoke to The Cincinnati Enquirer recently about how excited she was to return to Cincinnati for the eighth time. 

Sofia Kenin, a 2019 semifinalist in Cincinnati, also withdrew from the field Tuesday with a foot injury. 

“Unfortunately I had to make the difficult decision to withdraw from the Western & Southern Open next week," Kenin said in a statement. "I am rehabbing well in hopes to play the US Open later this month. I feel another week of recovery is necessary. I want to thank the USTA for all their efforts in holding the event during such challenging times. Best of luck to all the players.”

The W&S Open also announced Tuesday several other wild card entries into the field. Americans Jenson Brooksby, Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe have been awarded men’s wild cards, and so have Bernada Pera, Samantha Stosur and Jil Teichmann in the women’s field.