By Bill Pierce, PA Sport

Venus Williams faces a major dilemma over how long to devote to her recovery from the injuries which wrecked her Wimbledon dream.

The 23-year-old former champion, who remains determined to regain supremacy over sister Serena, has lost her last six meetings with her 21-year-old sibling following Saturday's 4-6 6-4 6-2 defeat on Centre Court.

But Venus is desperate to launch another bid for the world number one spot, beginning at the US Open next month.

Despite beating number two Kim Clijsters, of Belgium, in the semi-final at Wimbledon, she is unlikely to climb higher than her current fourth spot when the new ranking list comes out on Monday as she did not progress beyond her last year's mark of beaten finalist in SW19.

Some critics even suggest she will never beat her younger sibling again but Venus goes back home with her family to Florida after saying: "I still want to be the best player I can be.

"I've been at the top of the tennis rankings and still feel that I'm at the top, doing well but I need to get healthy.

"A lot of times it is easier on the day you injure yourself to keep playing, considering that it can be tougher to recover than to play on.

"But I knew what I was in for (at Wimbledon) and I don't know if I proved anything to myself. I guess I'd better think about it."

Venus already admits she must go through a definitive course of treatment on the further damage that has been done to her body during the current Grand Slam campaign.

Like many tall, slim athletes, the 6ft 1in American is suffering knock-on effects from an initial injury which in this case was a severely pulled stomach muscle.

The pain has passed on to her hip and groin and although surgery appears to be ruled out as a realistic option, Venus accepts that proper rest from the game is essential.

The big problem is that she will certainly need at least one warm-up event before the major action starts at Flushing Meadows on August 25 and only five are available at the start of American hardcourt season.

Venus looks certain to have to tell American Fed Cup captain Billie Jean King she must drop out of their next assignment in less than two weeks while the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford and the Acura Classic at San Diego, both at the end of this month, also look too early for her.

Her next appearance could be the JP Morgan Open in her native Los Angeles starting on August 4 but after that only the Rodgers AT&T Cup in Toronto, Canada and the Pilot Pen New Haven Championship are left before the US Open.

Venus's personal trainer on the women's tour, Kerrie Davis, said: "Venus has a programme of treatment she can follow including both ice and heat effects.

"There are also defined exercises but the only real cure for her strains is long rest."

Venus is concerned she must time her spell of rehabilitation exactly right as she felt ring-rusty after taking nearly three weeks out before the French Open last month having originally injured her stomach in Warsaw when she defaulted the final against Amelie Mauresmo in April.

That was only her fourth tournament of the year and she admitted: "I think it is discouraging that I'm going to have to take more weeks off and kind of start from scratch with fitness. Perhaps it was why my form was so bad at the French.

"I felt my game was back to a much higher level at Wimbledon but when you take weeks off, you get off certain things, for me especially my serve.

"I know I will have to work very hard on it again but the way I am now, lots of things have been taken away.

"I mean, I could move a lot more but I think that especially at my height I have to be very quick on my toes and I have to be ready to change direction.

"That means I getting my body weight re-directed and for that I have to stay very low which is difficult right now."

Meanwhile Serena Williams is still clearly not in the mood to over-celebrate her return to the Grand Slam winners' rostrum.

She declined to make further comment on her win on Sunday and was said to be sensitive to suggestions that her victory was a fait accompli. She has maintained that Venus played well enough to beat her.

Former men's champion and now top commentator John McEnroe broadly hinted on Saturday that Serena was being generous to her sister in surrender of the first set.

But on Sunday he said: "That's not what I meant when I said 'strange things were happening'.

"Do I believe things were pre-determined? No, I don't believe it was.

"Were there things going on that made it a little weird? Yes."

Co-commentator Tracey Austin, the former US Open champion, pointed out: "If anything was set up that they shared results I don't think Serena would have won the last six matches between them."