Britain’s Anne Keothavong prematurely ends 2009 WTA season due to injury

Britain’s top-ranked female tennis player Anne Keothavong won’t be competing for the rest of the 2009 WTA season due to serious knee injury she incurred during a doubles match on Tuesday at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California.

A scan conducted on Wednesday saw a serious torn in her left knee which needs immediate surgery. She’s expected to be back home in Britain by Thursday.

Four years ago, Keothavong got a similar injury but it was on her right knee.

“I tried to avoid the fence and in doing so I twisted my knee. I’ll have to rehab for the rest of the season. Of course, I’m disappointed to be out for the rest of the season, but I’ll continue to work with my team and look forward to coming back next season,” the Briton said in an interview.

This layoff would mean losing significant ranking points for Keothavong, who reached the US Open third round last year.