A ring rusty Venus Williams is eager to get back into action after injuries that have blighted the American's career ruined a potentially lucrative 2010 for the seven-time grand slam champion.
World number five Williams ended the year with her highest singles ranking since 2002 after defending titles in Dubai and Acapulco at the start of a 15-match unbeaten streak, which ended with a finals defeat by Kim Clijsters in Miami in March.
But after reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where she has won five times, Williams' run to the semi-finals at the US Open was her only tournament outing over the final six months of the year due to a knee injury.
'Injuries are always disappointing but you take it all in your stride and aim for a balanced life on and off the court. This year I am looking forward to staying healthy because, while I was feeling good, I had some decent results,' said Williams after firing the Noonday Gun in Causeway Bay yesterday ahead of the Hong Kong Tennis Classic, which starts at Victoria Park today.
'I have never paid too much attention to the rankings over winning events, but I would like to continue to climb up. For a while last season I was doing really well and got to number two and then a lot of bad luck hit so I would like to regain my spot back.'
Williams, 30, insists she has not considered cutting down on playing doubles to prolong her singles career and is looking forward to reuniting with sister Serena, who will miss defending her Australian Open singles title this month due to injury. The pair have combined to claim 12 grand slam titles since 1999.
Venus, who is 15 months older than her 13-time grand slam singles championship-winning sibling, had dropped down to 48th in the world at the end of 2006 after another injury-marred season but has steadily recovered after claiming her last grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2008.
