Venus Williams will take on Greet Minnen instead of Paula Badosa (Picture: Getty)
Venus Williams will now face qualifier Greet Minnen in the first round of the US Open after former world No.2 Paula Badosa pulled out due to injury.
Bianca Andreescu, who won the US Open in 2019, has also withdrawn due to an injury problem and was due to take on Lesia Tsurenko but the Ukrainian will now play Elsa Jacquemot instead.
The final Grand Slam of the year gets underway on Monday as the biggest names in tennis take to the stage in New York.
The women’s singles looks set to be wide open and former British No.1 Laura Robson feels there are up to 15 players who could walk away with the trophy.
Williams, 43, was handed a wildcard to compete at Flushing Meadows this year and the veteran will be looking to pull off some upsets in front of a home crowd.
The seven-time major champion registered one of her biggest wins in years at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, stunning world No.16 Veronika Kudermetova.
It has been six years since Williams reached a Grand Slam final but Marketa Vondrousova’s remarkable SW19 triumph last month – in which she became Wimbledon’s first unseeded champion in women’s singles history – has shown that anything is possible.
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That’s especially true at Flushing Meadows, where Britain’s Emma Raducanu won the title two years ago and became the first player to win a Grand Slam as a qualifier.
Williams is currently ranked world No.410 and won back-to-back US Open titles in 2000 and 2001.
The American will be taking part in a record-extending 24th US Open having made her debut in 1997.
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A change of plan for Venus Williams.