Serena Williams and Andy Murray both withdrew from the Jan. 15 Australian Open. (Image: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cSadly I won\u2019t be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete,\u201d Murray said in a statement. \u201cI\u2019ll be flying home shortly to assess all the options but I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams followed a day later, withdrawing from the prestigious event, saying she wasn\u2019t tournament ready and was still getting her game together after giving birth to her daughter Olympia in September.<\/p>\n
“After competing in Abu Dhabi I realized that although I am super close, I’m not where I personally want to be,” Williams said in a statement. \u201cMy coach and team always said, ‘Only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way.’\u00a0I can compete \u2013 but I don’t want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time,\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Other Factors Influencing Odds<\/h2>\n
Williams was the defending champion after defeating her sister Venus last year while she was two months pregnant. She was a 40-1 pick to repeat this year, far behind favorites Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza, who are at 6-1. Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep are next at 15-2.<\/p>\n
Venus Williams is listed at 22-1 and is coming off a trying year for the 37 year old. She attained her highest ranking (No. 5) since 2010 but failed to win a title. She was also embroiled in a controversy involving an automobile accident when her car was hit by another vehicle.<\/p>\n
The passenger in that car ultimately died of his injuries. Williams was cleared in December of any wrongdoing in the accident but a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family is ongoing.<\/strong><\/p>\nMurray wasn\u2019t expected to play because of a lingering hip injury and wasn\u2019t on the betting board. Last year he was one of the favorites to win at plus-150, but was upset by Germany\u2019s Mischa Zverev in the fourth round. He has three grand slam titles but has never won the Australian.<\/p>\n
With Murray out Roger Federer is the 15-8 favorite, with Rafael Nadal at 4-1 and Novak Djokovic at 5-1.<\/p>\n
When They Might Return<\/h2>\n
It appears Serena Williams will be on a tennis court sooner than Murray. It is expected she will play next month and prepare for the next Grand Slam event, which is the French Open in May.<\/p>\n
Murray\u2019s season appears to be finished, to the disappointment of his fans<\/a>. He is pondering hip surgery and returned to the UK to assess his options. He has not played in a competitive event since July.<\/p>\n\u201cSurgery is also an option but the chances of a successful outcome are not as high as I would like which has made this my secondary option and my hope has been to avoid that,\u201d he said in a statement. “However this is something I may have to consider but let’s hope not.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Australian Open is looking less like a Grand Slam event after losing tennis stars Serena Williams and Andy Murray this week. Murray told tournament organizers on Wednesday he couldn\u2019t play because of a lingering injury. \u201cSadly I won\u2019t be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete,\u201d Murray said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":66697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Serena Williams, Andy Murray Withdraw From Australian Open<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n