Serena Williams Injures Ankle and Departs Brisbane

Written by: Staff on 4th January 2012

Serena Williams Injures Ankle and Departs Brisbane

Serena Williams of USA screams as she collapses during her second round match against Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia at the Brisbane International tournament in Brisbane, Australia, 04 January 2012. EPA/DAVE HUNT |

Serena Williams needed only a few hours to decide on her first pullout of the new year, withdrawing from the Brisbane International after rolling her left ankle in a victory into the semi-finals of her first event in four months.

The Brisbane debutante pulled the plug on her participation. The 30-year-old fourth seed was in tears as she went over on her ankle near the end of the match, but managed to defeat Serb Bojana Jovanovski 6-2, 6-4.

The muscular American was wrong-footed by her opponent while serving for the match, only to topple over as she tried to shift direction. After laying on the court for a few dramatic minutes, Williams lumbered back into action to finish the job.

Her pullout gives Daniela Hantuchova a walkover into the semi-finals and leaves Williams in some doubt as she tries to play the Australian Open starting in little more than a week.

“I’m disappointed to have to pull out of the Brisbane International,” Williams said. “I’ve been to hospital and it has been confirmed that I have a left ankle sprain that I probably shouldn’t play on.

“I’m going to take a couple of days off – not too many – and see how I feel. I’m still hopeful of playing the Australian Open. I wasn’t ready for such an unexpected end to the tournament; I didn’t expect to be getting an MRI today.”

Topics: Serena Williams