Serena Williams’ grand slam bid on hold as US Open postpones semi-finals

Serena Williams will have to wait before continuing her bid for a calendar-year grand slam: Her US Open semi-final was postponed because of rain in the forecast.

The top-seeded Williams was supposed to face 43rd-ranked Roberta Vinci of Italy at Flushing Meadows, but nearly four hours before that match would have started, the US Tennis Association – citing a prediction of “rain throughout the evening” – pushed back both women’s semi-finals until Friday.

When the USTA announced the rescheduling, there were doubles and juniors matches in progress. But the rain did eventually arrive, wiping out play, a little more than an hour before Williams and Vinci were supposed to take the court. It was drizzling at 7pm, when that match would have started.

Williams is trying to become the first tennis player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to earn all four grand slam titles in a single season. She won the Australian Open in January, the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July.

It created a high-profile and packed schedule for Friday, when the men’s semi-finals already were slotted.