Williams' US fear after broken-glass injury

SERENA Williams is a doubt for the US Open because of a recent foot injury sustained on broken glass in a restaurant shortly after her triumph in the ladies singles at Wimbledon.

The WTA confirmed last week the world No 1 needed surgery and would miss three tournaments leading up to the Open. Tour spokesman Andrew Walker said Williams is questionable for the final Grand Slam of the year.

Williams' return to the Open has been widely anticipated because of her tumultuous semi-final loss there last year, when she threw a tirade at a line judge at the end of a match against Kim Clijsters and was fined a record $82,500.

Because of the injury, Williams is missing the entire World Team Tennis season with the Washington Kastles. Her team said she cut the bottom of her foot and needed stitches.

"Hey guys I'm doing better," Williams tweeted. "Thanks for all the love."

On Sunday night she had tweeted: "Can't wait to get out of bed & back on the courts & do what I do best!"

Williams won her fourth Wimbledon crown and 13th major title on 3 July at SW19. The injury occurred shortly after in Europe and at first was not believed to be serious.

After hurting her foot, Williams played in an exhibition in Brussels on 8 July against Clijsters before a world-record tennis crowd of 35,681.

Williams attended a WTT match the next night in Glen Falls, New York and did not play but briefly discussed her injury with reporters. When asked how she was able to play against Clijsters, Williams said, "Those Belgian doctors and waffles."

Clijsters said she knew before the exhibition that Williams was hurt pretty seriously. "I saw her before we started but she didn't go into how it happened," Clijsters said. "I told her how much I admired her for coming out there. A lot of players in her situation wouldn't have done it."

Williams subsequently withdrew from upcoming tournaments in Istanbul, Cincinnati and Montreal. The last of those, at Montreal, begins on 16 August and the US Open starts on 30 August.

"You want the best players to be out there, especially at the US Open," Clijsters said. "It would be sad not to have Serena there."

After winning the Australian Open at the end of January, Williams was sidelined through April because of an injured knee.