North American Venus Williams had qualified but pulled out due to left wrist
injury


TENNIS; Venus Williams's Injury Scrutinized
Published: October 27, 2001

Venus Williams withdrew from next week's season-ending WTA championships
because of a wrist injury and could be penalized by the WTA Tour. She had
already pulled out of this week's tournament in Austria because of her wrist.

Bart McGuire, the chief executive of the WTA Tour, said yesterday that the
injury will be investigated. He said Williams could lose as much as $140,000
in year-end bonus money if her injury was not legitimate.

''Especially in the view of Venus's repeated confirmations of intent of play
in the Sanex Championships, this is very disappointing news for the tour,''
McGuire said.

He added that Williams could face other unspecified sanctions under the
tour's conduct code if the injury cannot be verified.

Martina Hingis and Monica Seles have already withdrawn from the event in
Munich, leaving the WTA with seven of its top 10 players in the field. Hingis
has a foot injury and Seles has declined to play in Germany since she was
stabbed there in 1993.

KOURNIKOVA LOSES QUARTERFINAL: Anna Kournikova's brief run at the Seat Open
in Luxembourg ended yesterday with a 7-5, 7-6 (2) loss to the top-seeded Kim
Clijsters in the quarterfinals.

Kournikova, who has never won a WTA title, missed most of the season because
of a foot injury. Before this week, Kournikova had lost all five of her
matches since coming back from a stress fracture in her left foot. She won
two matches in the $170,000 Seat Open before losing to Clijsters.