Tennis great Serena Williams has been diagnosed with a viral infection after retiring towards the end of the 1st set in her 2nd round clash vs Alize Cornet.
Serena Williams was escorted from the court whilst leading 6-5 in the 1st set after the trainer had been called to court and checked the American World Number 1’s blood pressure and temperature. It has been reported that Serena Williams was taken to hospital after leaving court as a precautionary matter. It is at the hospital that the viral infection was diagnosed.
Williams, who is scheduled to play the Premier mandatory event in Beijing next week, did not give any details as to whether she will play the event or not. Serena Williams suffered another viral infection during her Wimbledon campaign which saw her lose to Cornet in the third round of singles play and leave court mid-match during her doubles clash with her sister Venus Williams the following day of The Championships.
The news is not great for Serena Williams as her health has been a huge factor in 2014, especially around some of the bigger events. Serena Williams was so dominant in the 2012 -2013 period that mental and physical exhaustion probably has become a factor and she has been unable to really recuperate from spending so much time on the court in these formidable seasons. She has won practically every big title on offer and the manner of her wins were absolute laden with power and destruction. As this is the second time within 12 weeks that Serena Williams has been diagnosed with a viral infection, she is susceptible to them and exhaustion could be a big time factor especially after coming off a record breaking sixth US Open title win.
The WTA Tour is a better place for having Serena Williams; it is probably high time that the American makes a decision to put her health first ahead of other commitments both on and off the court! Love her or hate her, Serena brings game and another level to the tour, so very important that in 2015 she is at her very best and challenging the records set by Navratilova, Evert and Margaret Court. Its this newsworthy record breaking headlines that the WTA Tour so craves as does their associate sponsors and of course, most tennis fans want a “happy ending” for Serena Williams and her career. She must listen to her body and treat with care… heeding such warnings could see her global domination catapult tenfold. However, most professional athletes find such recuperation / recovery boring and impatience a torment which Serena Williams has admitted in the past.
However, one must not take away from the manner of play that Alize Cornet was displaying vs Serena Williams in that 1st set. Another victory was highly probably due to level of play she was ascertaining and the way it was starting to get on Serena Williams mind.
One thing is for sure, Serena Williams has left the WTA Wuhan Tournament draw wide open with many other rackets able to make an impact on rankings or possible places at the WTA Finals and Tournament Of Champions events. Lets hope that those in the running are able to play under such pressure and surpass their original tournament goal, just like Serena has done time and time again.
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