Three of the biggest names in women’s tennis sparked a heated debate over the weekend when they withdrew from their warmup events to rest for the Australian Open.
Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Victoria Azarenka all pulled the pin on the warmup events they were playing at Melbourne Park, citing various injuries.
Williams was scheduled to play Ash Barty in the semi-finals of the Yarra Valley Classic on Saturday, but announced her withdrawal on Friday night because of a shoulder problem.
“I’ve gotten a lot of treatment already on my shoulder but I’m super confident it’s going to be great,” Williams said.
“It’s definitely something that I’m going to have to deal with, and knowing that going into the tournament definitely helped.”
