Serena Williams withdrew from the French Open before her second round match against Tsvetana Pironkova due to Achilles injury.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion was due to
meet Pironkova on Wednesday morning at Court Philippe-Chatter, but he was
knocked’ out.
Williams was involved in the Achilles'
handling of the tournament, which he maintained at the US Open, and he did well
after winning the first round 7-6 (7-2) 6-0 against Christie's. Could not
recover.
The 39-year-old rushed to the court for
her warmth but soon realized she would not be able to compete.
"After I got hot - it was a very
short warm-up - I talked to my coach and I was like, 'What do you think?’ They
said.
"We both thought about it and we
really realized that playing today was not the best thing for me.
"I like to play in Paris, I really
wanted to try here. My Achilles didn't have time to recover properly. I'm
struggling to walk so it's a kind of sign that I'm recovering. Should try.
"
Williams, with his eyes set on a record
equal to the 24th Grand Slam, said he did not think she would win enough
matches in Paris.
Now, he is expected’ to have a
rehabilitation time in about four to six weeks, starting with complete rest in
at least two weeks.
"I'm definitely going to take it in
the first two weeks of doing nothing and then I'll start training a little
bit," he said.
"Mathematically, I don't know if I
will be able to play in the second tournament this year.
"I'll take the first two weeks and
then start from there ... it will give me plenty of time to fully recover in
the future."
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