Venus Williams Retires From Australian Open 21.01.2011 MELBOURNE-- After playing only a few points in her third round Australian Open match Friday night (early Friday morning USA time), Venus Williams retired from the match versus the 30th seeded Andrea Petkovic 0-1 retired. Venus played just seven points before her groin injury from her second round match proved too painful to continue. Venus said she would not return to the WTA Tour until she was 100% healthy. A bit of bad news is that since Venus reached last year's Australian Open quarterfinals, this 3rd round finish means that after the tournament is over and the new WTA Tour rankings are released January 31, Venus will fall to an estimated number 7 or 8. Venus Williams Wins In Wonderland Dress 19.01.2011 MELBOURNE-- Wednesday at the Australian Open (Tuesday night USA) in the second round, Venus Williams defeated Sandra Zahlavova 6-7(6-8), 6-0, 6-4 after pulling her groin muscle after jumping for an overhead in the tiebreaker. After the first set Venus, left the the court for treatment before returning to close out the match. Venus' tennis was overshadowed for much of the match by her self-styled yellow "Alice In Wonderland" dress. Friday (Thursday night USA time) in the third round, Venus plays the 30th ranked Andrea Petkovic of Germany in what could be a tough match. Venus has never played Petkovic before. Petkovic reached the final at Brisbane earlier this month after beating Jelena Dokic and Marion Bartoli. Venus Williams Back In Action Wednesday 01.18.2011 MELBOURNE-- Venus Williams plays her second round singles match at the Australian Open Wednesday (Tuesday night USA) versus Sandra Zahlavova of the Czech Republic. The match is scheduled as the third match on the Rod Laver Arena. Should Venus win, she could face Anne Keothavong of Great Britain or the 30th seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany in the third round. Venus Williams Wins At The Australian Open 01.17.2011 MELBOURNE-- Venus Williams wearing a blue and silver minishirt and tank top dress played aggressive tennis while hitting a low number of errors Monday at the Australian Open first round for a 6-3, 6-2 win over Sara Errani of Italy. In round two Wednesday or Thursday, Venus plays the 97th ranked Sandra Zahlavova of the Czech Republic. Venus has never played Zahlavova before. Australian Open Draw Venus Williams Gets A Good Australian Open Draw 01.13.2011 MELBOURNE-- Venus Williams, who has been seen practicing for several days in Melbourne, today got a reasonably good Australian Open draw. Venus could play Maria Sharapova of Russia in the fourth round, Na Li of China in the quarterfinals and Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark or Justine Henin of Belgium in the semifinals. Kim Clijsters of Belgium, Samantha Stosur of Australia and Vera Zvonareva of Russia are all on the other side of the draw, which means Venus could only meet them in the final. In the first round, Venus plays Sara Errani of Italy. No word yet on Venus' Australian Open dress. Australian Open Draw Venus Williams Next To Play Australian Open 01.09.2011 MELBOURNE-- Venus Williams is skipping next week's Sydney WTA Tour tournament and next plays at the Australian Open in Melbourne starting the week of January 17th. Venus' best result at in Melbourne was a 2003 finalist finish losing to her sister, the current defending champion Serena Williams. Last year at Melbourne, Venus played very solid in the quarterfinals before errors overtook her game as she lost to Li Na of China 2-6, 7-6(7-4), 7-5. Venus should be seeded 4th this year at the Australian Open. Venus Plays Better But Loses Again In Hong Kong 01.07.2011 HONG KONG-- Venus Williams Friday lost to Li Na of China 6-3, 7-6(7-3) at the Hong Kong Classic exhibition tournament. Venus appeared to play better than in her match Thursday but was still a way off from her best tennis which is to be expected after an injury layoff. Despite the two losses, Venus continued to display her trademrak positivity. “Definitely today, I was able to find a better rhythm,” said Williams. “My shots started feeling a lot better. I started hitting bigger serves on big points. Definitely, I felt very positive about my game. It was great today to be able to face break points and still win those games and come back from a break and all those things that I haven’t done in a while,” Williams said. “These games have been very valuable for me because I just haven’t played a lot of tennis.” Hong Kong: Website | Gallery | Draw | Forum | TV Schedule | Talk About It! Venus Williams Loses In Hong Kong Exhibition 01.06.2011 HONG KONG-- Venus Williams Thursday lost to the Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-4, 6-2 at the Hong Kong Tennis Classic non-WTA Tour exhibition tournament. This is not too large of a setback as this is not a WTA Tour event and it is a good way to both get some practice matches and make some major cash close to the upcoming weeks in Australia. Venus was rusty in the match while Vera played well for the win. “I haven’t played that many matches in the last six months, so I think it showed a little bit today, but it’s not too unexpected,” Williams said. “I just need to get out there and play points. I don’t feel any pressure right now to play my best tennis. I know my best tennis will come with each and every match.” Friday in the Silver Group Ladies' Singles Final at Hong Kong, Venus plays Li Na of China. The Hong Kong tournament has a website and an iPhone app which can be found on their website. The Australian Open, Venus' next tournament begins January 17th in Melbourne.