Why Serena Williams Withdrew From Rogers Cup: Tournament Director Speculates Reasoning

Rogers Cup tournament director Eugene Lapierre was left to speculate as to why Serena Williams withdrew from the competition.

Just a few weeks after losing to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final, Williams suffered the most lopsided defeat of her career when Briton Johanna Konta defeated her 6-1, 6-0 at a Silicon Valley Classic event.

The American was then expected to feature in the Rogers Cup for the first time since 2015 on Monday after accepting a wild card into the event. However, she would go on to withdraw from the tournament Saturday citing personal reasons.

Williams, of course, gave birth to her daughter last year and her run to the final at Wimbledon was just her fourth competitive tournament since returning to action in March. Lapierre believes the hassle of bringing her child around during the WTA Tour may have been a factor.

"This is nothing but speculation on my part, but I think it can’t be easy to continue on the circuit every day with a young child," he told the Canadian Press. "And I saw all the hassle it can take to organize a trip with a whole team. Because we tried to accommodate it as best we could, and everything was in place."

"I used to joke that we had diapers to distribute, but that was okay. Her coach had us rent an SUV to lug everyone. The SUV was here in the parking lot."

However, given the beyond unexpected manner of her defeat to Konta, Lapierre also thinks Williams may not have been happy with the level she was showing on the practice courts.

"We don't know anything more about Serena's withdrawal, I haven't had the chance to speak to her or her agent," Lapierre added, as per Tennis World USA. "It must not be simple, for [Williams] to come back to play, as a mother. She did not have an easy run upon her return to the hard courts. I'm thinking that perhaps she was not satisfied with her level on the practice courts."

There is no word yet on whether Williams will participate in the Cincinnati Open which takes place from Aug. 13 to 19 but the 36-year-old is expected to feature at the US Open for the first time since 2016 which takes place from Aug. 27 to Sept. 13.

Despite the defeat to Konta and her recent withdrawal, she is a 7/2 favorite to win a seventh US Open crown. Kerber is just behind with 8/1 along with Simona Halep (9/1), Garbine Muguruza (11/1) and defending champion Sloane Stephens (14/1).

"I know I can play a zillion times better so that kind of helps out, too. I have so many things on my mind; I don’t have time to be shocked about a loss that clearly wasn’t at my best right now," Williams said after her loss to Konta. "When I was out there, was fighting. That’s the only thing I can say. I wasn’t just like giving it away and I was moving a lot better. So I’m just trying to take the positives out of it."

Williams is currently ranked 26 in the WTA rankings.