New York: Serena Williams is hoping to recover from a right foot injury in time to play at the US Open, the agent for the 13-time Grand Slam singles champion said Tuesday.
"Right now, we're taking it a day at a time. She's resting and recovering," agent Jill Smoller said in a telephone interview. "She's a fast healer."
The No 1-ranked Williams had surgery last week in Los Angeles to repair deep cuts on her right foot. She tweeted Tuesday about spending a "5th day in bed. arghhhh"
The American was hurt while she was in Munich this month — shortly after winning her fourth Wimbledon singles title on July 3, and before playing in an exhibition match against Kim Clijsters that drew a tennis-record crowd of 35,681 in Brussels on July 8.
"She will start training again as soon as she's healed," Smoller said.
Williams already has pulled out of three hard-court tournaments she was scheduled to enter in preparation for the U.S. Open. The season's last major championship begins Aug. 30 in New York.
She withdrew from the July 26-Aug 1 event in Istanbul, the Aug 9-15 event in Mason, Ohio, and the Aug 16-22 event in Montreal.
The foot injury also led the 28-year-old Williams to miss the full World TeamTennis season for the Washington Kastles.
Generally, neither Williams nor her older sister Venus, a seven-time major singles champion, publicly discusses injuries.
Serena Williams already missed all of February, March and April this year because of a left knee problem. She is 25-4 with two singles titles in 2010 — at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
She won her first Grand Slam championship at age 17 at the 1999 U.S. Open, and she also won the title there in 2002 and 2008. Last year, as the defending champion, she lost in the semifinals to Clijsters when a tirade at a line judge over a foot-fault call at the end of the match resulted in a point penalty.
"Serena Williams is one of our sport's greatest champions, and we are very hopeful she will be back at the U.S. Open. We communicate with her team frequently, and will continue to do so," Open tournament director Jim Curley said. "We wish her a speedy recovery.
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