Sad week on WTA Tour: Daniela Klemenschits dies and some players suffer health problems

It was a sad day for the tennis world on Wednesday, as Daniela Klemenschits - who, along with twin sister Sandra Klemenschits, was diagnosed with a rare form of abdominal stomach cancer last January - passed away. Unfortunately, the illness proved too much for 25-year-old Daniela, whose cancer was more advanced than Sandra's. The Klemenschits sisters are perhaps best-known for reaching the Istanbul final in 2005 and the Stockholm and Budapest semifinals later that year; they were an impressive force on the ITF Women's Circuit as well, winning 20 titles together. (article and photo via Sony Ericcsson WTA Tour)


On the other hand some other WTA players have announced that they will be out of the Tour for a while due to health problems.
Most shocking was Venus Williams, who announced that she will be out the Tour for an indefinite period of time until she "resolves some issues" that she didn't want to get any further into. Expeculations raised about possible health problems, although her agent reported that she was just making some medical tests and would be ready to return at next month's Italian Open.
German Tatjana Malek will be out of the Tour for 6 months after she was diagnosed a thrombosis on her leg, most likely due to the long flights, which could have lead to a cardiac arrest. Malek had some pain in her calf and after it became worse and the pain was spreading into her whole leg she went to hospital and was forced to stay there for 1 week. Malek needs 3 months to healing up completely, but her comeback to the Tour may take 6 months, as she also wants to focus on her education.
Finally Ashley Harkleroad is recovering from surgery to remove her right ovary on March 30 after a frightening episode during the Sony Ericsson Open. She experienced some abdominal pain during and after her straight-sets second-round win over France's Virginie Razzano, but chalked it up to menstrual cramps and tried to treat it with over-the-counter pain medication. The discomfort worsened, and Harkleroad underwent a diagnostic ultrasound that showed she had a blood-filled cyst on her ovary. After her 3rd round match, Harkleroad spent several hours vomiting, unable to eat or drink, and grew progressively weaker. The cyst had ruptured. Harkleroad said she bled internally, affecting her liver function, and wound up losing more than a quart of blood. She was rushed to the hospital where she went through emergency surgery. Harkleroad spent two days in the hospital and she is healing quickly now and expects to resume practicing next week and could be playing again by early May.