MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam event without a seeded American woman. Serena Williams is vowing to do what she can to end that streak at one tournament.

"I take the blame for that," Williams said Saturday as she worked on her final preparations for the year's first major. "I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen anymore."

Not all of the blame can be put on Williams' shoulders for the absence of an American in the seeds. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion is coming off her third straight injury-plagued year, one in which she played in only four tournaments and saw her ranking slide to No. 140, the first time she was out of the top 100 since she made her pro debut nine years earlier.

Sister Venus is battling a nagging wrist injury. Lindsay Davenport is sitting out to have a baby. And no other American woman has yet to distance themselves from the current crop of youthful wannabes.

Serena is back up to 95th and coming off a promising effort at a warmup tournament in Hobart that left her feeling upbeat.

"I just expect to go out there and most of all have fun," said Williams, who has won two Australian titles but is unseeded this year.

Other players aren't sure what to expect from Williams, who sets the pace with her power and rises or falls on how well she does it.

"She'll just have to play her game," said sixth-seeded Martina Hingis, who knows a little about comebacks after returning from retirement a year ago. "She never depended really on anybody else. With the sisters, it's always been either they are on or they're not. It's always if they really want it and they're hungry."