Venus Williams Crashes Out of Top 100 Following Back-to-Back Disappointments on Clay

Former world number one and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who is striving hard to stay competitive on the women’s tour, has fallen out of top-100 in the WTA singles rankings for the first time since 2011.

It has been a bumpy ride over the past two years for the veteran American as she struggled to stay fit consistently. She also couldn’t manage to reach the second-week of any grand slam since the finals of the 2017 Australian Open. Venus lost in the finals to her sister, Serena Williams.

Venus Williams drops out of top-100 in WTA rankings for the first time since 2011

Coming to her performances this year, Venus played her first tournament at the Australian Open, where she lost in the second round against Sara Errani. During that match, the American injured her knee while attempting to play a drive volley. Despite this, she didn’t back down and continued the match without retiring mid-way.

Even the Miami Open was not kind to the legendary American as she lost in the first round to the qualifier Zarina Diyas. When Venus lost her first round match at the ongoing Parma Open, her ranking dropped from 87th in the world to 102nd.

When the American’s ranking first went out of top-100 in 2011, it was due to the hip muscle injury, followed by a diagnosis for Sjogrens Syndrome, an autoimmune disease. The five-time Wimbledon Champion has battled through her struggles and bounced back to form in 2017.

But can Venus bounce back to form once again on the WTA Tour?

Even though it looks incredibly difficult for the American to stage a solid comeback any time soon, the start of the grass-court season might offer a ray of hope as Venus’ record on grass is better than any other surface.

Circling back to her clay-court season this year, Venus expected to play the French Open directly after first round defeats in Rome and Parma.

But the tournament organizers at Internationaux de Strasbourg has offered a wildcard for the seven-time Grand Slam champion. The American accepted it and will be playing the tournament which starts from 22nd of this month.

Along with Venus Williams, Bianca Andreescu and Alize Cornet have already announced their participation at WTA Strasbourg this year. With a good lineup, it will be interesting to see how far Venus goes in the tournament.