Sister act is put on hold once again Sister act is put on hold once again (July 22, 2005)

With Serena sidelined by injury, Venus carries family name into the Bank of the West Classic next week

by Rick Eymer

The Williams sisters may seem inseparable on their new reality TV show, "Venus & Serena: For Real", but the two tennis stars have yet to share that closeness at the annual Bank of the West Classic.

For the second time in three years, Serena Williams has withdrawn from the annual women's-only tournament at Stanford's Taube Tennis Center. The week-long event begins Monday. Williams, the sixth-ranked women's player in the world, cited an ankle injury originally suffered in April at Amelia Island. Williams also pulled out of the Classic two years ago with an injury, and has yet to play in the event, where her older sister Venus made her professional debut 11 years ago. "It is really unfortunate that I will not be able to play," Williams said. "I took some time off after Wimbledon to try to get healthy again, which is what my doctors advised me to do, but that has not allowed me sufficient time to train and be fully prepared to compete at a high level next week." Russia's Elena Bovina, ranked 17th, has also withdrawn due to a right shoulder injury that forced her out of Wimbledon. Venezuela's Maria Vento-Kabchi (ranked No. 71) and Mashona Washington (59th) will move into the main draw. Washington reached the third round at Wimbledon. The draw is scheduled to be announced today. 12th-ranked Patty Schnyder, the top seed in this week's Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati, could become a factor at Stanford next week. "I'm playing awesome this year," Schnyder said. "I've had some great results and really want to keep it that way. I look forward to keep it going and we'll see how my ranking looks at the end of the year." Vera Zvonareva, ranked No. 15 and in the Bank of the West main draw, is also playing in Cincinnati. Stanford products Laura Granville and Lilia Osterloh each lost in the first round in Cincinnati. Granville and former Stanford teammate Marissa Irvin each received direct entry into the U.S. Open the USTA announced Wednesday. The U.S. Open begins Aug. 29 at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Stanford grad Paul Goldstein, ranked 78th, received direct entry on the men's side. Also entered at Stanford are No. 18 Nathalie Dechy, No. 19 Jelena Jankovic, No. 23 Francesa Schiavone, No. 26 Daniela Hantuchova (who beat Osterloh earlier this week), No. 30 Marion Bartoli, No. 32 Ai Sugiyama, No. 36 Anna-Lena Groenefeld, No. 46 Shuai Peng, No. 51 Lisa Raymond, No. 52 Samantha Stosur, No. 54 Iveta Benesova, No. 55 Amy Frazier, No. 61 Karolina Sprem, and No. 125 Chanda Rubin (who beat Granville). Angela Haynes and Alexandra Stevenson were added as wild cards on Thursday. Haynes made her WTA tour debut at Stanford in 2003 as a qualifier. She upset Rita Grande in the first round. Stevenson, making her fifth appearance at Stanford, reached a career-high No. 18 in 2002. McDonald's will present the second annual Grand Slam Tennis Jam at the Bank of the West Classic on Monday, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., at Stanford's Arrillaga Plaza. The United States Tennis Association's (USTA) Northern California section, in collaboration with IMG, will co-host the event. Up to 1,000 youngsters from Bay Area grass roots and inner-city tennis programs and other youth outreach organizations are expected to participate.

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