Indian Wells, Calif. — Venus Williams, scheduled to play her sister Serena in Thursday's Masters Series semifinals, withdrew at the last moment because of tendinitis in her right knee.
The tournament also lost the world's top-ranked players, Gustavo Kuerten and Martina Hingis.
The announcement of Williams' withdrawal, made just as she and Serena were to take the court for their evening match, drew loud booing from the crowd of 10,000.
Venus Williams had shown no signs of the injury when she beat Elena Dementieva 6-0, 6-3 in Wednesday's quarterfinals. She said the knee began bothering her warming up for the semifinal.
"I made every effort to be on the court, stretching, warming up and taping, seeing the doctor," said Williams, who said she decided she couldn't play about 10-15 minutes before the match was to begin.
Serena will play Kim Clijsters, who upended Hingis 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, in Saturday's final.
"To be honest, I'm just as shocked as you," Serena Williams said. "I hit a bit with Venus before the match. She could hardly hit, just slice and dropshot."
Hingis' loss ended her string of five consecutive finals.
Jan-Michael Gambill, who won at Delray Beach, Fla., last week, stunned Kuerten 7-6 (5), 6-4 to move into the quarterfinals.
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