VENUS WILLIAMS UNSEEDED

Written by: Staff on 29th August 2011

VENUS WILLIAMS UNSEEDED

Venus Williams of the US takes on Tsvetlana Pironkova of Bulgaria during their fourth round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 27 June 2011. EPA/FELIPE TRUEBA |

(Courtesy of USTA)

Venus Williams, who opens her 13^th US Open today against Vesna Dolonts of Russia,enters the tournament unseeded for the first time since 1997. That year, a 17-year-old Williams stormed into the final to become just the second unseeded woman in the Open Era to reach the singles final (joining Australian Kerry Melville in 1972; Kim Clijsterssubsequently won the title as an unseeded player in 2009). Williams fell to Martina Hingis in the 1997 women’s singles final.

Here’s a look at Venus’ seeding and results at the US Open through the years:

Year Seed Result

2011 Unseeded ???

2010 3 Semifinals

2009 3 Fourth Round

2008 7 Quarterfinals

2007 12 Semifinals

2006 Did not play

2005 10 Quarterfinals

2004 11 Fourth Round

2003 Did not play

2002 2 Runner-up