Preparations for the last leg of Serena Williams’ quest for the coveted Calendar Slam will begin a bit later than originally scheduled. The World No. 1 has announced that she’ll skip next week’s Bank of the West Classic at Stanford due to the lingering elbow issue that forced her out of Bastad last month.
"I'm disappointed to have to withdraw from the Bank of the West Classic, but I need to get my elbow back to 100 percent,” said Williams, who is a three-time champion at the event. “The tournament is one of my favorites and the fans have always been so generous and supportive of me. I wish all of the players much success and I hope to return next year."
Caroline Wozniacki will take Williams’ place as the top seed. The draw will be revealed later this evening from Stanford.
The field for the event still packs a punch. In addition to Wozniacki (World No. 5), No. 7 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 10 Carla Suarez Navarro, No. 12 Karolina Pliskova, No. 13 Angelique Kerber, No. 16 Andrea Petkovic, No. 18 Madison Keys, No. 20 Elina Svitolina, and No. 23 Sabine Lisicki will all be competing.