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Dropping out Williams to miss championships, could face sanctions
MUNICH, Germany (AP) -- Venus Williams, tennis' highest profile female player, has withdrawn from next week's season-ending tour championships and could face unspecified penalties. Williams, who withdrew from this week's WTA event in Linz, Austria, with a wrist injury, said the same injury would keep her out of the Munich tournament. Martina Hingis and Monica Seles had already withdrawn from the event, leaving with WTA with seven of its top 10 players in the field. Hingis is out with a foot injury and Seles has declined to play in Germany since being stabbed there in 1993. WTA Tour chief executive officer Bart McGuire, in a statement Friday, said he was 'very disappointed' at Williams' decision. He said the injury would be investigated and she faced possible sanctions under rules that govern player conduct. 'Especially in the view of Venus' repeated confirmations of intent of play in the Sanex Championships, this is very disappointing news for the tour,' McGuire said. 'We will verify the extent of Venus' injury as it pertains to her ability to meet her commitment to the Sanex Championships. The tour rules provide for such verification. In addition to losing her bonus pool funds, Venus could be subject to sanctions under the Tour's code of conduct if the injury cannot be verified.' Williams could also lose as much as dlrs 140,000 in year-end-bonus money, McGuire said. Williams' withdrawl came a day after the United States announced it would not play in the Nov. 7-11 Fed Cup in Madrid because of security concerns. Williams and her sister Serena, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport and Monica Seles could have been members of the American team.
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