Fans devastated about first Australian Open without Serena and Venus Williams since 1998

For the first time in 24 years, no Williams sister will be in action when the Australian Open kicks off later this month.

The 41-year-old hasn’t played since August because of a leg injury and has seen her WTA ranking plummet to No.318 in the world. Because she is outside the top 100 players in the world, she would have required a wildcard to play in Melbourne. However, News Corp revealed on Friday that Venus will not make the trip Down Under, meaning both Williams sisters are out of the hard-court major.

It will mark the first time since 1997 that neither Williams sister will be in action at the Australian Open. A seven-time grand slam champion, Venus has never won the Australian Open singles title despite making the final in 2003 and 2017. Fans were left devastated by the news that she won't be playing in 2022, with many coming to the realisation that we've likely seen Venus in Australia for the last time.