Serena, Nadal and Federer miss Grand Slam for first time since 1997

Updated Aug. 25, 2021 6:03 p.m. ET

It has been a long time since fans haven't had the chance to root for Serena Williams, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament, but such will be the case at this year's US Open.

On Wednesday, Williams announced via Instagram that she had withdrawn from the calendar year's final Grand Slam, citing a hamstring injury.

Williams' announcement comes less than two weeks after both Federer (knee) and Nadal (foot) announced on Instagram that lower-body injuries would put an end to their 2021 seasons.

With that, sadly, America's premier tennis tournament will miss arguably the three biggest stars in tennis.

Federer and Nadal are tied for the most Grand Slam titles in men's tennis history (20), and at this year's US Open, Novak Djokovic will look to complete a sweep of the four Grand Slams in 2021 — he won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon — and inch ahead of Nadal and Federer by winning his 21st Slam.

Williams (23) trails only Margaret Court (24) for most Grand Slams in women's tennis history.

The last time a Grand Slam event went off while missing Williams, Federer and Nadal was the 1997 version of the US Open – nearly 25 years ago and before their careers began.

Williams made her Grand Slam debut at the 1998 Australian Open, followed by Federer at the 1999 French Open and Nadal at Wimbledon in 2003.

What did the tennis world – and the world in general – look like the last time these three juggernauts didn't take the court at a Grand Slam event?

Let's have a look.

1997 US Open results: Patrick Rafter defeated Greg Rusedski in four sets to win his first Grand Slam title at the 1997 US Open, and Martina Hingis defeated Serena's sister, Venus, in straight sets to win her third career Grand Slam title.

No. 1 men's tennis player: Pete Sampras

No. 1 women's tennis player: Martina Hingis

Cost of a gallon of gas: $1.22

Cost of a movie ticket: $4.59

Cost of a gallon of milk: $1.90

Average cost of a new home: $176,000

Highest-grossing movie: Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones' "Men in Black" topped the box office with $250.69 million.

Broadway: "Lion King the Musical" debuted.

Harry Potter: The first Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," was released in the U.S.

The tech scene: Microsoft became the world's most valuable company at $261 billion, Steve Jobs returned to run Apple, and Google.com was registered as a domain name.

The Masters: Tiger Woods became the youngest to win the Masters, at age 21.

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