Serena Williams’ wait for a record-equalling Grand Slam title will extend into 2021 after the American pulled out of the French Open with an Achilles injury on Wednesday morning.
The three-time champion at Roland Garros is still bidding to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
But ahead of her second-round match against Tsvetana Pironkova later today, she announced her withdrawal in a press conference after failing to recover from the injury picked up at the US Open earlier this month.
The 39-year-old said: “I think I need four to six weeks of sitting and doing nothing. I have been struggling to walk so that’s a tell-tale sign that I should try to recover.
“Achilles is an injury you don’t want to play with – I think it was one of the worst, don’t want to get to that point, I want it to get better. My Achilles didn’t have enough time to properly heal after the US Open. Will I be able to get through enough matches? I don’t think I could as I’m struggling to walk.”
Williams revealed she had first started feeling the Achilles problem when denied a place in the final of the US Open against eventual runner-up Victoria Azarenka.
She was victorious in straight sets in her opening-round match in Paris at the start of the week but said the pain had increasing hampered her.
Williams also said that she was unlikely to play another tournament in 2020 and will most likely instead turn her focus on winning a 24th Grand Slam in Australia at the start of next year.
