Serena Williams Added to Kremlin Cup Roster, Henin Off with Shoulder Injury
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Oct 5, 2007 | Print | Email | Bookmark | Free Subscription
Only hours after adding one Grand Slam winner to its list of competitors, the 2007 Kremlin Cup has announced that another champion will be skipping next week’s tournament.
Serena Williams has received a wildcard entry into the upcoming Tier I event, boosting the player field to four top 10 players. It would have been five, but current world No. 1 Justine Henin has just withdrawn from the tournament, citing a shoulder injury.
“We were told Henin had suffered some injury to her shoulder and although she is still playing this week, she would not play the following week as she wants to have some rest,” said Kremlin Cup executive director Alexander Katsnelson to Reuters on Friday.
Henin announced last month in a diary entry on her official website that her fall schedule would not include the Kremlin Cup.
“I have less than a week left to practice for Stuttgart, and be in form,” Henin said. “After that tournament I will play Zurich then Madrid for the WTA Championships.”
Maria Sharapova has also accepted a wildcard into Moscow’s main draw. The final wildcard is expected to go to either Elena Vesnina or Vera Dushevina.
If you enjoyed this tennis article, please sign up for a free subscription!
Venusfan | Oct 5, 2007 | Reply
i know this has nothing to do with the above article, but what is going on with Jamea Jackson? she seems to have fallen off the radar recently. Do yu think she has the potential to be the next big American star?
Aaress | Oct 5, 2007 | Reply
Venusfan,
Jamea’s 2007 season was pretty rough, to put it mildly. She started the year on the injury list after having surgery in December to repair an injury in her right hip. She finally returned to the Tour at Roland Garros, but lost in the first round.
Her ranking has dropped considerably (outside of the top 300) over the past several months, and apart from a handful of wins at ITF Circuit events, she has not won an official Sony Ericsson WTA Tour match all season.
I’ve not heard much about her recently, but given the status of her ranking, she will have a long road back in 2008.
As for the next big American star, the outlook at the moment is not looking so great. It could be Jackson, Vania King, Ahsha Rolle, or even a veteran such as Meilen Tu or Laura Granville. Out of the bunch, I’d probably pick Rolle or King.
Fortunately, there are talented juniors coming through the ranks, but their peaks could still be several years away.
Hope this answered your question!
Richard | Oct 5, 2007 | Reply
King will probably finish the season outside the Top 100 this year. She has the Thailand Open pts to defend, which I doubt she can. And what is she ranked now? In the 80’s?
The only US junior I see as a possible Top 20′er is Alexa Glatch, if she’s 100% healthy and ready.
Rolle, King, Jackson, and Shenay Perry will win some matches and possibly stay around in the Top 75 or so and that’s it.
Alice | Oct 7, 2007 | Reply
I wonder how the absense of Richard is affecting Serena’s mood on and off the court.
There was a lotta hope that Perry and Jackson would pick up where Chanda left off.. But it hasnt really turned out that way