Venus Williams may have to sit out most of last season due to prolonged illness and injuries but the seven time Grand Slam winner will definitely be back on court for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, the Australian Open that begins Down Under on the 16th of January, 2012 according to the director of the tournament, Craig Tiley. Although the older of the two Williams sisters withdrew from a tournament in New Zealand that was supposed to be a practice tournament for her before the Australian Open due to illness, she will travel to Australia for the first major tournament of the year, a title that she won way back in 2003.
The 101st ranked player in the world, Venus has been receiving treatment for an auto immune disease that doctors have termed as Sjogren’s syndrome for the last couple of months pulled out of the tournament in New Zealand that is scheduled between the 2nd and 7th of January, according to the organizers. But Craig Tiley said that both the Williams sisters will travel to Australia for the Grand Slam.
Venus Williams, who has been a champion at Wimbledon a staggering five times played in only four tournaments in 2011 due to the illness and was also suffering from a hip injury that made her miss four months of action in the last calendar year. But according to her representative, she is fit and raring to go as she aims to climb up the WTA rankings from 101.
This is the lowest ranking that she has managed in 15 years of professional tennis and Venus Williams aims to set things into perspective by winning the first Grand Slam tournament of the year and win a tournament that she has been the winner only once in her career.