Venus Williams confirms tear in harmstring after ASB Classic injury which halted comeback: “I knew that it was going to be bad”

Venus Williams was defeated by Lin Zhu in the round of 16 of the ASB Classic, and now she opened about her physical problems on her YouTube channel.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion started her 2023 season in Australia on a positive note, seeing her win the first round against Katie Volynets. It wasn't a small achievement, the eldest of the Williams sisters only played 4 singles matches in 2022 (0-4 record), and with the retirement of her younger sister Serena Williams last year, it seemed inevitable that Venus would follow her decision.

The former World. No 1 faced the Chinese Lin Zhu in the round of 16, and in a three-set battle, the American suffered a harmstring injury. Three days later she was to confirm that she would have to be withdrawn from the Australian Open due to an injury she didn’t specify. The 42-year-old shared a video in which she gave details of what happened:

"In the third set, I managed to hurt my leg. I'm running, I'm running, I'm running and then I feel this pop, and I'm like 'Oh no'. I didn't have enough time to think whether or not it was a good thing or bad thing but maybe I thought it was bad, and I guess my coach and physio were telling me, 'Call the trainer'."

"But I've hurt my hamstring enough to know that there's nothing to be done once you hurt it, like, either you keep playing or don't, but there's nothing you can do", also she declared: "I knew that it was going to be a bad injury.”

Williams also explained that the conditions he had to live in Auckland due to the rain were one of the "craziest circumstances" she has experienced in his 29-year career:

"I did not call the trainer. I think I just panicked and threw up on myself the rest of the match, like, I just had shots that I could hit winners. I unfortunately walked off the court not a winner of that match and you know, about a seven or eight-hour encounter which “really were the craziest circumstances I played in in my long, long, long, long career.”

In addition, she confessed that there is still a lack of time for her to return to the courts and feel physically comfortable:

"I think my next step is to get to to a place where I feel confident in my body again I definitely need to build confidence in it again and I'll get there, god willing. I'll take you guys on this journey with me, back to health, back to tennis hopefully. Hopefully sooner than later, I don't know exactly when but I'll let you know."