The 1996 gold medallist Lindsay Davenport has succumbed to a chronically injured knee, withdrawing from singles competition at the Beijing Olympic event which starts on Saturday, dpa reported.
The 32-year-old, travelling for the first time without her infant son Jagger, will still try and front up for doubles on the US team alongside Liezel Huber.
Davenport, who won four titles during a post-pregnancy comeback to the WTA, from last September, has not played since winning a Wimbledon first round and then withdrawing with the problem.
The fate of her career could hang on the outcome of the long-running problems which has limited her to five events this season. "There's concern about being able to play potentially 11 matches on it," said an American official.
The veteran's US Open hopes may also be compromised by the problem, as the final Grand Slam of the season starts a week after the end of the Games, from August 25.
Davenport has said she is not looking farther ahead than the Open. "(The knee) is doing a bit better. I've been resting it since Wimbledon," said the former number one and three-time Grand Slam winner.
Davenport aggravated the injury in pre-Wimbledon grass-court play. "The Olympics were number one," she said of her priorities. "To play in New York another time - after that, I have no plans."