Venus Williams drops out with wrist injury

She's pulling out of the event that she's won twice before.
NEW YORK (AP) -- When Venus Williams is healthy, she's still one of the top players in women's tennis. Like her sister, though, Williams has had plenty of problems with injuries, and the bum left wrist that's sidelined her since Wimbledon is forcing her to skip the U.S. Open.
Williams withdrew Friday from the year's last Grand Slam tournament, an event she's won twice.
"I have many great memories from competing at the U.S. Open, and I regret that I will not be able to participate in 2006," Williams said in a statement released by her agent. "I will miss the excitement of competing in front of the New York fans at one of the premier sporting events in the world. I look forward to returning in 2007."
Her agent, Carlos Fleming, said Williams plans to participate in the U.S. Open's opening night ceremony Monday, when the complex used for the tournament will be renamed to honor Billie Jean King.
Next scheduled in September
The next tournament on Williams' schedule is an indoor event in Luxembourg that starts Sept. 25, and Fleming said she has every intention of playing.
"It's kind of in Mother Nature's hands right now," Fleming said, "and once she's ready to go, she'll be back out there."
Williams, who was seeded 30th for the U.S. Open, won the hard-court major in 2000 and 2001, part of her collection of five Grand Slam titles. She also reached U.S. Open finals in 1997 and 2002, losing to her younger sister Serena in the latter.
The siblings' ascension to the top of the sport was a factor in the U.S. Open's decision to move the women's singles final into prime time for the first time in 2001. Venus beat Serena that year for the championship, and nearly 23 million viewers tuned in, giving the final the largest TV audience of any program that night, including a college football game between Notre Dame and Nebraska.
That began a string in which Venus and Serena met in six out of eight Grand Slam finals. But both have been limited by assorted injuries in more recent times. Neither played in the 2003 U.S. Open, for example, because Serena was recovering from left knee surgery and Venus had a torn stomach muscle.
Won at Wimbledon in 2005
At Wimbledon last year, Venus showed what she can do when she's fit, winning the title. But this year, Venus has played only 17 matches, Serena just 12.
The 26-year-old Venus missed more than three months with a right elbow injury after her first-round loss at the Australian Open, and now has been out since July 1. Serena's chronic left knee problem kept her off the tour for six months in 2006, and her ranking tumbled so far she needed a wild card to get into the U.S. Open.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.