Serena Williams withdraws from French Open due to injury

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

Serena Williams’ quest for her 24th Grand Slam title was put to an end after a collective team decision to withdraw from the 2020 French Open.

Despite her flawless first round victory against Kristie Ahn, 7-6, 6-0, the American tennis star confirmed that she is experiencing an Achilles tendon injury that worsened heading into her second- round match.

Williams and her camp thought that her injury will have enough time to heal after her US Open stint and decided to go on with Roland Garros.

“The Achilles didn’t have enough time to heal after the US Open. I was struggling to walk and that is a tell-tale sign that I should try to recover,” said Williams.

Due to face Bulgaria’s emerging tennis star in Tsvetana Pironkova, Williams’ withdrawal from the prized tennis tournament will take away one favorite for the coveted title with Victoria Azarenka already out after a second-round upset against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

“I need 4 to 6 weeks of sitting and doing nothing. It’s more than likely that I won’t play another tournament this year,” Williams added.

Williams maintained that she is still motivated to tie or break Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles as soon as her health improves.