Serena Williams became depressed after failing to win the US Open this summer and has been battling a knee condition similar to that suffered by Rafael Nadal.
The extent of her disappointment and physical difficulties after falling to Roberta Vinci in the Flushing Meadows semi-finals and missing out on the calendar Grand Slam was revealed last night by her French coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Williams has been criticised for not playing in last week’s WTA Finals in Singapore, but Mouratoglou insisted that she had no option.
‘She was depressed, because she didn’t reach her goal,’ said Mouratoglou, speaking in his capacity as an ambassador for Maui Jim sunglasses. ‘The disappointment is as high as the expectations. When she loses, she’s very affected.
‘It was 15 days before we spoke. She doesn’t want to talk when she’s depressed. After something like this, you have to see people who don’t represent tennis.
‘She has had a complete break that she needed, she had to pull out of a few tournaments and she hates to do that but we had to, especially as her knees needed rest.
‘The injury can get worse, and at her age her career could really be in danger if she went too far and got more injured like Rafa did, for example, in the past.
‘He kept on playing with the same problem and it got worse and he had to stop for almost a year, we don’t want this to happen. She is 34, if she has to stop for a year then it is really bad for her future.’ – Daily Mail