Serena Williams WITHDRAWS from French Open due to achilles injury and admits she is struggling to even WALK
- Serena Williams was due to face Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round
- But the American has withdrawn from Roland Garros due to an achilles injury
- The 23-time major winner sustained the injury in the US Open three weeks ago
- Williams admitted she needed rehab and is currently ‘struggling to walk’
Serena Williams has withdrawn from the French Open before her second round clash against Tsvetana Pironkova, due to an achilles injury.
The 23-time major winner, who sustained the injury in the US Open semi-finals three weeks ago, said in an emotional press conference on Wednesday: ‘After I warmed up – it was a very short warm-up – I talked to my coach and I was like, “What do you think?”
‘We both thought about it and we really realised that it likely wasn’t the best for me to play today. It’s my achilles which didn’t have enough time to properly heal after the US Open.
Serena Williams has withdrawn from the French Open today due to an achilles injury
Williams has pulled out after admitting she thought she could not go deep in the tournament
The 39-year-old announced the news at a press conference in Paris on Wednesday morning
‘I was able to get it somewhat better but just looking long term in this apportionment will I be able to get through enough matches? For me, I don’t think I could. (I’m) struggling to walk so that’s a tell-tale sign that I should try to recover.’
‘I love playing in Paris, I really wanted to give an effort here. My Achilles didn’t have time to properly heal. I’m struggling to walk so that’s kind of a tell-tale sign that I should try to recover.’
The news means that Williams, 39, will once again have to put on hold her hopes of equalling Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
Despite her injury, Williams did manage to win her Roland Garros opener against compatriot Kristie Ahn on Monday, winning in straight-sets.
More to follow…