Wimbledon: Venus Williams to miss tournament for first time since 1997

Venus Williams: The American world No 34 pulls out of Wimbledon

Five-time singles champion Venus Williams has pulled out of Wimbledon because of a back injury.

The 33-year-old struggled with the problem during the clay-court season and was knocked out of the French Open in the opening-round by Urszula Radwanska.
She has not played since withdrawing from the doubles at Roland Garros with sister Serena and has decided not to flare up the problem by playing at SW19.

"I am extremely disappointed as I have always loved The Championships, but I need to take time to let my back heal."
Venus Williams

"Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in Wimbledon this year," said Williams.
"I am extremely disappointed as I have always loved The Championships, but I need to take time to let my back heal.
"I look forward to returning to the courts as soon as possible, with my goal being to return to Mylan World Team Tennis on July 8th in Washington DC."
Williams has become increasingly prone to injury as well as battling the auto-immune disease Sjogren's Syndrome.
She had been having a decent season until her back problems, reaching two semi-finals on the WTA Tour and climbing back up to 34 in the rankings.
Williams had never missed Wimbledon since her debut in 1997 and was the singles champion at the All England Club in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
She suffered her first opening-round defeat last year since 1997 to Elena Vesnina but won the doubles title for a fifth time with Serena.