THE Williams sisters are coming to Melbourne. Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has been in touch with Venus and Serena to check on their schedules after Venus's withdrawal from the WTA event in Auckland.
The five-time Wimbledon champion has had a rotten season, playing just four tournaments, with her best result a quarter-final at Eastbourne.
First her right hip kept her out for four months, and then a viral illness that was finally diagnosed as the immune deficiency Sjogren's Syndrome, which causes joint soreness and fatigue.
The sisters have played exhibition matches, but Venus decided to have an extra two weeks' preparation for Melbourne (January 16-29) and miss Auckland (January 2-9).
Tiley said he rang the 31-year-old's agent to find out if Venus was in doubt for Melbourne Park.
"I wanted to touch base but there's no change for her. She's coming," Tiley said.
Serena, who missed the last Australian Open but is a five-time champion in Melbourne, has also had a bad run this year. She was hit with a heel injury and then a pulmonary embolism, missing 12 months in total, not returning until June.
She then withdrew from Tokyo and Beijing in October with illness and finished the year at No 12.
"For sure, she's definitely coming. I've talked to her and her agent just last week and they both told me her schedule hasn't changed," Tiley said.
Venus's ranking has slipped to 102, the lowest the former No 1 has been in 15 years.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old Queenslander Ashleigh Barty was granted a wild card yesterday to the qualifying rounds of the Brisbane International (January 1-8) rather than the main draw.
"Ash had a plan all summer put together by her coaches. It's about what's best for her tennis, as she has a long journey ahead of her," said Tiley, who is Tennis Australia's director of tennis.
"There's no need to rush into a situation right now where her coaches believe won't maximise her tennis further down the track.
"I think it's a great decision because it means Ash is not after the glory. She knows she has to improve her game, and the coaches are doing a great job in reinforcing that development."
Barty is under the guidance of Lleyton Hewitt's former coach Jason Stoltenberg, and the women's program manager at the Australian Institute of Sport, Nicole Pratt.
Playing qualifying should give Barty more match practice rather than facing someone like Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova or Sam Stosur in the first round.
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